How to Read More Books This Year
A Non-Bookworm's Secret Weapon.
Reading has never been my default activity. I never crave reading a book, and even for pleasure, reading can’t compete with YouTube.
But last year I ended up reading 18 books. More than double from my typical 6 to 8.
What did I do differently? I changed how I approach reading books entirely.
Never Settle for Mediocre Books
To make reading a habit, you need to break two mentalities.
First, read books that genuinely excite you. That means reading smuth. Reading sci-fi. Or whatever tickles your fancy. No judgment.
Another recommendation is not to pick encyclopedia-length books. My soft rule is under 400 pages. This makes reading and completing books more pleasurable. It’s the James Clear adage: standardize before you optimize.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah is a great example. The first few chapters are bangers, but the rest was a struggle fest. It took me six painful months to finish, and reading it felt like a chore.
And that’s the second mentality shift. Give yourself permission to quit books.
I know, I know. We've been conditioned to think quitting is bad. Our brains are wired to see things through, even if they suck.
But finishing doesn’t matter. For every mediocre book you force yourself to finish, you're stealing time from a potentially great book.
There's also a sunk cost fallacy when you buy books. So stop doing that. Get a library card then and be picky AF about books that don’t bring joy.
Gamify Your Reading
If finding books that bring enjoyment is intrinsically motivating then Goodreads is the external force that can push you further.
Goodreads is the Strava or Letterboxd of reading. It's a place to share current reads with friends and track progress. But the game-changer is the yearly reading challenge.
My goal is 22 books this year. This might seem to contradict my whole "quit books" philosophy but here is my rule.
If I read one-third of a book before quitting, it counts as reading the entire book.
Is it cheating? I don’t care. My aim isn't to hit some arbitrary number. It's to read more and enjoy every minute.
There's also this weird psychological tipping point when you have a yearly goal. When I'm about 70% through a book, I get this surge of motivation to finish. It’s a similar feeling to running a race or writing a blog post. When we can see the finish, we accelerate forward.
Find More Moments of Reading
Reading before bed is great but it’s not enough to move the needle. I often found myself tired and stopped reading after a few minutes and turned off the lights.
We all know we have enough time to read. We just need to swap reading our phones to reading our books.
A paperback works fine but I find my Kindles indispensable.
Yes, I have two. A new Paperwhite dedicated to reading time at home, and an older generation that permanently lives in my backpack and is my commuter companion. The second Kindle removes the friction of remembering to pack it. It’s always there, ready to replace mindless scrolling.
My train commute is only 22 minutes but it adds another 1.5 hours of weekly reading time.
But it’s not just extra time. It’s the extra moments. Moments build momentum. When you're consistently reading, even in short bursts, you stay engaged. I keep finding myself coming home and finishing chapters.
Another tactic is extending your bedtime reading by extending your evening routine. I’ve been playing around with blocking my internet access at 930pm using the Freedom App and Xfinity App to cut me off from all screens.
The Right Approach to Reading
Reading more isn't about forcing yourself. It's about making small, strategic changes that align with natural tendencies.
If you stop reading boring books, stop reading on your phone, and set a reading goal, I bet you can double the number of books you read this year. And if that means going from 2 books to 4, that puts you in the 99 percentile.
Thanks for reading!
Irfan
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