Increasing Your Reading in 2020

Are you hoping to read more in 2020? Philip and I made the goal to read more often for 2018, and since then have been increasing slowly each year (or rather quickly in my case last year). I love it when others are reading, and love to talk about books, so I thought I'd share some of the tips that have helped me increase my reading count so exponentially this year. 

Goodreads

I use the Goodreads app (as well as a spreadsheet) to track my reading, and you can find my profile in the link on the right. It's a social media app for readers, allowing you to add books to your TBR (to-be-read) pile digitally, and mark the books you've read, providing a rating should you choose. It's fun to be able to see what friends are reading, and allows you to see at a glance all of the titles you've read. Habit tracking is a motivator for me, so tracking my reading helps me to feel excited about getting closer to my goals. 

Libby

The Libby app can be used for taking out ebooks and audio books from the library on your phone or tablet. In Summer of 2019 I discovered audio books and have finally hit my stride as far as picking books and knowing what I like in an audio book. As long as you have a library card, this is a free option and I have really enjoyed reading this way! As I mentioned in my last post, I found celebrity memoirs or other books that were read by voices I knew as a great gateway into audio. A lot of people find non-fiction easier than fiction on audio, which was my experience as well, although I have been finding some great fiction options lately as well. Check my last post for some great audio book recommendations, or send me a DM on instagram for more recommendations!

Book-ish Podcasts

One way to stay motivated to keep reading is by often hearing about new and exciting titles, and listening to people talk about a love of reading. I have two favourites:

What Should I Read Next with Anne Bogel Anne hears from listeners 2 books they love, and 1 book they don't, and proceeds to give them 3 recommendations for what they should read next. It's relaxing to listen to, and I have never been steered wrong. If you aren't into podcasts, her instagram would also provide lots of great inspiration to get you to the library.

From the Front Porch This podcast comes out of a bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. It's a dream for a local bookstore, and my reading tastes are very similar to the bookstore owner, Annie (apparently you need to be named Anne/Ann/Annie to be into books - thankfully my middle name is Ann). They're changing their format in the new year, so the podcast might change a little bit, but I have complete confidence.

Creating Time for Reading

Don't think you have time to read? A couple of ideas to carve out the time:

Pair reading with something else in your weekly routine. Our starting move in 2018 was to pair reading with babysitting our nephews once a week. Each Wednesday when we went over, as soon as the boys went to bed we both took out our books. It was a quiet activity which was great for sleepy kids, and it automatically gave us an hour or two of reading. Once you get into a book for an hour, you're more likely to be interested in the story and eager to pick it up for a few minutes before bed each night or in any other free time you might have. 

Set a timer. Laura Tremaine, a podcaster I follow, suggests setting a timer for reading. If you're just getting started, set a timer for 20 minutes and dedicate yourself to reading. If you set a 20 min timer each day you'll be getting through books in no time!

Read as a reward. Sometimes if I'm doing a task I really don't enjoy, or trying to psych myself up for such a task, I'll give myself a reading reward. If I shovel the walk, I'll come in and read a chapter afterward. 

Read as a break from another time suck. On a relaxing day if you're watching some TV, before allowing Netflix to play the next episode automatically, read a chapter between episodes. It's time you would have spent on a TV binge anyway, and helps incorporate your new habit into the time. 

We're 2 weeks into January, have you done any reading? I'd love to hear about it! I am ahead of my goal for January reading, so February might include some longer doorstop titles while I have the wind at my back. One of my favourite January reads so far was Atomic Habits by James Clear. If you're still determining any 2020 goals you might have, that book is an amazing resource!