The power you wield as a reader is being threatened. Twitter, Instagram, and a hundred new apps are working to make you addicted. But it’s not too late to regain your power to choose what you think or meditate on. This post will explain how to fall in love with reading again.
Why You Should Read
If you have landed on this page by searching for terms like how to start reading again, then you know the value of quality reading. But it’s worth refreshing the value you miss out on if you are not doing it.
- Reading empowers you with knowledge. Most of the things we learn at this age are through reading.
- Learn from other people’s mastery, expertise, and experience. For example, I have been dreaming of traveling to Bali because I read a book called Eat, Pray, Love when I was young.
- It fuels or satisfies your imagination. Our brain is constantly working. Even while you sleep, your brain is active. You can actively choose your thoughts through reading. Fiction readers attest that they love the idea of following their imagination.
There are more reasons why reading matters, but I guess, you know. Now, let’s move on to the challenges. Why do you struggle in the first place?
Why You Struggle to Read
This post is about how to fall in love with books again.
This means if you look back at your childhood or years back, you probably fell in love with books at some point.
Then, something changed. Most people say we grew up, bills have increased, or we are adults now. But the truth is, all of that doesn’t stop us from reading.
So, your first step is to admit why you stopped reading. This is the first thing to think about. The other is looking at other external things that are making it difficult.
These include:
Internet
The internet is like a vast land. It has no end. Trying to explore it all is like trying to see the world in a day. It’s not possible. You have to think about that each. Pull back for thirty minutes and look at the world around you, or pull a book and read.
Notification
Another possible reason you struggle to read it is because of notifications. Do you remember forgetting you were cooking a meal, and it burnt? Why did it happen? The thing is, you didn’t get any signal, such as sound, sight, memory, or smell, that reminds you that you are cooking something. It’s the same when you are reading. Notifications are the enemies such as sound, image, and pop-ups that remind you to check something out. For example, set your device to no disturb or put it in airplane mode for ten minutes.
Physical Distraction
The old physical distractions are still a thing. Concentrating on a book when someone is talking to you is hard, and they won’t stop or engage in activities filled with lots of excited chants. So, you want to prevent that in the best way possible.
Mobile devices
Phones and PCs are the most powerful tools we have on the internet. Unfortunately, I don’t know about you, but they feel underused if you just use them for reading. I mean, you could be using them to play games, build your next business, or watch movies.
However, they make reading a lot easier. Look at the value of reading again and set a short time to read every day.
Time
One of the excuses people give for not reading is “I don’t have time.” Well, that’s a lie.
How long does it take to read a novel?
It takes about 6 hours to read 100k words. Are you surprised about that? You can do a quick search about it.
Novels like Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice are between 300,000 words and more. According to our early findings, reading it will take 18 hours. That’s not up to a day. Impressively, you can read it over the weekend (Saturday through Sunday).
But let’s say you are a lazy reader like me. You are busy with work, family, and business. Let’s say you take twice as much time as the average reader. You need 12 hours to read 100,000 words (which is the average length of popular nonfiction books).
If you spend an hour reading a book of that length, you will finish it in 12 days. However, if you take more time than that, let’s say you use 24 hours instead of 12, you will finish a book of that length in 24 hours by reading for an hour per day.
You do have time.
If you are like me (before I reallocate some of my time correctly), you spend more than 2 hours daily on social media. You spend more than an hour per day arguing with strangers who don’t care. I am not saying to give that up. I am saying to reschedule some of these hours.
So, the problem is allocating time to read. If an hour per day is too much, you can split it into 20 minutes into three places.
How you choose books
I do two kinds of reading. First, I read a few nonfiction books in a year. Second, I read more fiction books because they nourish my imagination. (I explain better in this post why you should read more fiction.)
For nonfiction books, I schedule about an hour or two per day. However, finishing them can take up to 30 – 40 days. Why?
I don’t usually read nonfiction to while away time. So, I only read a few that are helpful and useful. Depending on how interesting they are, I can finish a copy of the fiction in three days.
I have just explained my system for reading. Do you have one, too? The worst mistake you can make on how to fall back in love with reading again is to use someone else’s book interest. They are not completely you. They can make recommendations but don’t expect their choices to always be perfect for you.
What is your interest right now? Choose that. Continue experimenting with different books until you recognize your patterns, favorite genre, and style.
What’s not important when choosing a book
The length, size, or complexity are less important than your level of interest. You can bend the rules to suit your love for reading.
The most important thing is you. If something is enjoyable and valuable to you, bend other things or find ways to make it happen.
How to fall in love with reading
#1. Start small. Start with what you like
Except you are a student, when you want to fall in love with reading again, start with what you love. And start small.
You could pick fantasy, for instance. Then, read a chapter or set a timer for 30 minutes and read nonstop. Do that twice a day. You would have read a whole book before the weekends.
#2. Know how long it will take to finish it
Some reading apps can tell you how long it would take to finish a book. You can use that or search for how long it would take to finish reading such books.
#3. The Twenty minutes rule
If you are getting back to falling in love with books, then the twenty minutes rule is great.
Choose a time of the day and set a timer for twenty minutes. Turn airplane mode on if you have to. If you don’t enjoy the book after twenty minutes, pick something else or try again for another twenty minutes, then decide.
#4. Use a calendar or create a routine
Creating a specific time every day for reading is helpful. Humans are designed to love habit. Setting a routine and keeping it small at the start can be helpful.
#5. Join a book club and get active
Hearing people share their excitement about books can make you fall in love with reading again. Even if you are not reading what everyone recommends, you might pick something and talk about it with the group later. The anticipation of sharing your reading experience can motivate you to read a book from start to finish.
#6. Read for pleasure
I mentioned the two types of reading I do. One is reading to learn something new, and the other is reading to be entertained. The first is slower, and the other is deeper. For deep reading, you might pick and read the same page or chapter for days.
Whether you are reading to be entertained or studying complex concepts, things get easier when you:
- Pick what you like
- Start small (20 minutes, for three times a day)
- Stay consistent (try to keep doing what you have to do for the next 7 days.)
Welcome back to reading books
How to fall in love with reading again is the same as doing anything significant in life. First, you need to put in some effort. Then, it gets better after some time. Remember why you love reading, and let that push you to take the first step. Start small. Start with what you love.