I'm (Actually) Reading Again!
On how to return to reading for enjoyment.
Hello again! Happy (belated) new year!
One year ago today, I wrote a piece where I reviewed the three books I had read so far, with the goal of reading 50 books by the end of 2025. At the end of that post, I wrote:
“To continue my travels into the ‘60s, I have started reading “The White Album” by Joan Didion and plan to move onto Eve Babitz afterward. I’d like to also be obnoxious and read Kafka and Simone De Beauvoir and maybe some Toni Morrison. Either way, I love stories and I’m excited I’m reading again. 47 more books to go!”
Spoiler alert: I did not meet my goal. By the end of 2025, I had finished four books and started two others. In fact, it was that very same book, Joan Didion’s “The White Album” that put me into a rut: I tried to persevere but failed and then read very sparsely for the rest of the year.
This year, I have the exact same goal to read 50 books, but this time, I truly believe I can do it. In the last two months alone, I have read eight books (!), including finishing a book I started last year. I read everywhere: on my commutes to and from various places (I even take the bus to my gym because it gives me uninterrupted reading time), during my lunch hour, before bed, even in cafes or during solo dinners. I love reading and I have found myself constantly inspired by my books and the adventures they have taken me on.
If you are, like myself, a lover of books and literature but have also struggled to find the joy in it again, read on for my tips on how to become a voracious reader again!
Start small.
If you want to become a daily reader, you simply must read every. single. day. They say it takes 30 days for a habit to form, so your first step must be to find a small reading goal that you can complete every day. Maybe that’s reading five pages a day, or less (I personally recommend reading a minimum of 10 pages a day).
Once you have your reading goal, find a book that you believe you can finish. It could be a small book written in the YA genre or a book you’ve read before and loved. Whatever book you choose, it needs to help you re-build your reading skills and remind you why you love reading.
When choosing a book that will motivate you to read, take inspiration from your own life.
Last year, I became obsessed with “Heated Rivalry,” the television show about gay hockey players based on the “Game Changers” book series by Rachel Reid. The buzz that I was seeing online inspired me to read the book series and I was curious to see how the show differed from the original text. So I marched into my local romance bookstore and bought “Common Goal” from the series. I consumed the whole book in three days.
All this is to say, find your own reasons to read. I read a book about friendship last year because I’d had a rough moment with a friend. Maybe you have been trying to get into cleaning this year, so you read Marie Kondo’s book about tidying up. Maybe a new Colleen Hoover (ew!) book is being adapted for the screen and you want to read it before the movie comes out. Maybe you were watching “The Traitors” and find yourself wanting to consume more stories of suspense and mystery. Or maybe you started a book years ago that you never finished and you finally feel ready and “called” to do so. The more motivated you are about why you are reading it, the higher the likelihood you will actually finish it.
PUT THE BORING BOOK DOWN!
Listen, I get that some books take a long time to get into, but life is simply too short for books you cannot enjoy. In January, I started a lovely book about the history behind some of the beautiful things we enjoy and consume. Although I was just shy of a hundred pages, when I found myself avoiding taking my book out when I had time, I knew I couldn’t continue it.
When starting a book, give yourself a three day “grace period”/ “trial period” where you try your best to get through it. But if it is just not working out, do not continue! If you do not find a new book for yourself, you will stall a lot of the progress you have made to make reading a habit because you will likely be avoiding this current book. You are not a failure, you just might have an interest in other subjects or genres and that is okay. Or the book could just be bad.
BUT! If the book is short enough and easy to read, despite being awful, maybe just try to push through. I read an awful romance novel that made me cringe, but I’d also gotten pretty far in it that I eventually just took an afternoon to finish it. But also, if you truly can’t take it DO. NOT. FORCE. IT!
Have a list of books that you plan to read after your current one.
Sometimes when you finish a book, you do not know what to do with yourself or where to go next. To combat that feeling, my suggestion would be to make a list of books that you are excited to read or seem akin to the one you were just reading. When I finished “Common Goal,” I decided to continue with the genre of romance novels as I had a few in my personal library. Finding a theme to follow is an awesome option when you want to stick with similar emotional/dramatic tones from the book you just finished.
Keep tabs on the books in your home that you have wanted to read or authors you have been interested in. I just finished “Little Weirds” by Jenny Slate and have started “Sex and Rage” by Eve Babitz because I bought the book a while back and I already known so much about her (also she is the anti-Joan Didion, which I love). It wasn’t so much that I was pulled to read it, rather I just remembered I had it and figured why not (also I am ready to go back into fiction after finishing non-fiction).
If you’re still stuck, the good news is the internet has lots of recommendations for what books you should read after the one you just finished. I personally haven’t tried this, but if you create a Goodreads account and tell them what books and genres you like, they can give you personal recommendations.
Read everywhere when you have time.
In continuing to make reading a habit, your next step is to break old patterns. Specifically, how often you use your phone when you are bored. Whenever I would plan to become a reader again, I’d usually end up tucking a book in my bag wherever I was going only to never take it out. Why? Because I’d forget. My habits on my commutes and during my spare time were usually to go on my phone, doom scrolling on social media instead of reading a book.
If this is a struggle you also deal with, I recommend holding the book in your hand instead of putting it in your bag when you are heading to the subway. This makes it so you immediately are reminded to start reading it. During lunch, keeping the book outside of your bag in a separate area or on your desk reminds you that it is there and ready when you have time. During bedtime, put the book on top of your bed or bedside table and move your phone elsewhere, so that you know you should read before drifting off to sleep (also it’s better for you - do you really need blue light interrupting your circadian rhythm??).
Again, if you are just beginning to make this a habit, please ensure that you like the book you’re reading, as that will motivate you to try to read as much as you can when you can so that you can finish it. Or, you could join a book club, which will hold you accountable for finishing up the book at a certain date in order to discuss with other people (eventbrite has a lot of book club events open to the public).
Make the public library your new best friend.
I LOVE LIBRARIES! My favorite space in Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library located in Grand Army Plaza. When I was a kid, my mom used to pick me up early from school and take me there. As I got older, I spent two years volunteering at the Fort Hamilton library for my High School community service project. I still think about becoming a librarian now and then.
Not only do libraries offer tons of books but they also have other offerings. You can borrow instruments, vinyls, movies, magazines and visit special exhibits there (I also learned you can gets SEEDS??). You can attend special events, like the music production event sponsored by Ableton that I went to at the New York Public Library last year. If you need help, the library is there, and they have career services and classes for you to take.
Few places in the city and the world are simply free, but libraries are one of them and you do not have to buy anything to be there. It’s quiet and clean and filled with space to read or do work.
But enough praising! If you need a book or audiobook, why bother paying for it when you could borrow it? Today I went to the library to pick up a book that I’d put on hold and had finally become available for me (yes, it’s from the “Game Changers” series, the library gets me). So do yourself a favor and get a library card so you can access it all!
FINE, AUDIOBOOKS ARE BOOKS! I GUESS YOU CAN LISTEN.
Confession: I hate audiobooks. I am a snobby elitist who does not think listening to a book counts as reading. My ex-boyfriend used to listen to audiobooks and I would fall asleep whenever that British narrator spoke. But I am also one person who simply loves to hold a book in her hand and physically turn the page. I like having my own inner voice when I read.
You are not me. You might enjoy hearing the actress Michelle Williams read Britney Spears’ memoir because it helps you to understand the information better and is more entertaining. You might not have space in your bag for a full book. If you want to read again and this is simply the best method for you to do so, then who am I to stop you? As Glenn Close once said in Lee Daniels’ film “The Deliverance,” “Then do it, bitch.”
So, go ahead, gentle reader. Choose a book that excites you. Find a quiet space where you can hear yourself think (or the audiobook you enjoy) and read, read, read! And if you ever want someone to read with, you know where to find me ;).
42 more books to go!