Background:
I’m in my 40s and I’ve always sort of beaten myself up over not being an avid reader. I go through phases where I read a bunch, sometimes I’ll finish a book in a months time, sometimes start a book and forget it, sometimes it seems like I go literally years without really getting into any book at all. But I still accumulate them.
Because of how important reading is and now I “fail” to prioritize it, I’ve always found myself in a poor relationship with reading. I feel this artificial pressure to read things that are only important and will somehow make me more useful. I feel this artificial pressure to start one book and read it to the end. I feel this artificial pressure to become a changed person by fully investing every bit of info from every book.
I’ve been learning that these pressures are untenable.
I’ve also noticed that I partake in all kinds of things without the same expectations: tv shows, games, podcasts, media and news outlets, social media, etc.
Right now I have 6 books that I am actively reading, and I am trying to remember that it’s for enjoyment and not some high level goal. Someone told me if I read 10 pages a day I would finish about 10 books a year. I found this so encouraging.
Taking the pressure off of reading has really helped me get more productive at reading, and I think it will help me convert my habit into a truly fruitful one.
So now I ask you:
- What are your reading habits like?
- What do you like to read?
- What kind of stage of life are you in, and how does that affect it?
- Have you made any changes, positive or negative, to your reading habits?
- What else?
I finish maybe 5 books a year. The library makes it so there’s a “deadline”, that helps.
I also don’t mind picking up a book, and returning it after a few chapters if I realise I don’t like it.
It shouldn’t feel like a chore.
Utilizing the library is a good idea, I should really do they more. I know in the US they need our support too.
I use my local library from my phone with the Libby app. I don’t know if this benefits them as much as going there in person does. I did go there to get a library card though, you need one to sign up in the app.
But they have a great catalog of ebooks that I can borrow from, I’ve read the bulk of The Dresden Files that way recently and I’m about to finish it if the last two books ever come off reservation.
For me getting an alarm clock made a difference. Because that nullified my brains weak excuse that I needed my phone by my bed “for an alarm”. No I didn’t. People have woken up perfectly reliably for years before smartphones. So I got an alarm clock. And that made it easier to turn going to bed into calm reading time instead of doom scrolling (by leaving my phone charging in other room). And that’s made a big difference, not only to quality of reading but also general mood.
Wow! That’s it, tomorrow I’m buying an alarm clock! Reading your comment made me realize how unhealthy it is to doom scroll myself to sleep! Thanks for the wake up!
Lately I have been trying to notice my doom scrolling actually using it as a cue to convert that energy into reading something I’m interested in.
I’m trying to quit scrolling like I quit smoking decades ago: with intentional anger for being controlled and then redirection.
I still use my phone for an alarm but it’s always far away from my bed because if I can reach my alarm without having to stand up im liable to keep sleeping.
- My reading habits are like everyone of my hobbies, I’m obsessed for a week then move on to a new pursuit then come back to reading several months later.
- I read text books about Aztec history.
- I’m a year away from 40 and I’m coming to terms with being alone for the rest of my life (which is exactly the same leading up to this point).
- I bought a book stand I can adjust and wheel around.
- Stop caring what other people think and just read when you feel like it. You’re overthinking this.
Being with someone has its perks, but honestly it’s way to over rated.
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I’ve been doing it wrong!
Blind OP is going to feel so discouraged by this
I would read like 60 or 70 books a year as a kid. I have the BOOK IT records to prove it. These days it’s like 10. I don’t think there is any shame in not reading per-se as long as you are pursuing other intellectual activities or hobbies.
I think people put too much emphasis on reading as some idealized time sink. There are lots of productive ways to spend free time and reading is one of them. When you are a kid you have fewer options but as an adult cooking or wood working or gardening can be a fine form of intellectual stimulation.
One counterpoint I would have to those other hobbies (I enjoy all of them, so no disrespect to them or practitioners of them) is they don’t expose a person to new ideas as easily. Reading is great for getting a potential new perspective on something, or just absorbing new ideas in general.
You can always combine both by reading up on another hobby you have, best of both worlds so to speak.
To preface, you are not a worse person if you don’t like to read. There’s so many different ways to learn or grow nowadays, you don’t need to force yourself to do it through a medium you don’t enjoy.
That said, I’m a person who DOES enjoy reading, but struggles to do it anyway for some reason. If that’s you as well, I get you. And I’d say it’s worth it.
In general, figuring out WHY you want to read will impact how to best work it into your life. Is it for entertainment, mindfulness, to get a better attention span, to chill out, etc. I do it for calming down mixed with enjoyment, and that impacts how I work it into my day.
What helped me was working it into my routine. I read at night. I don’t have a set schedule, I teach night school some nights, and I’m working on a masters thesis.
My fixed point every day: some time when I feel ready (a fixed time would stress me out), I turn off my laptop, text my partner good night, and put my phone away. I get ready for bed. What follows is designated reading time. I read for as long as I enjoy it, am not too tired, and can still focus. If I’m not getting tired, I’ll dim the lights at some point. Sometimes, I read one page, sometimes 50. If you force it, it won’t be enjoyable.
I also always carry the book and try to read while I’m on the tram or train. Especially for somewhat longer journeys, which I take somewhat regularly, I get a lot of chill reading done like that. But that’s pretty specific to my situation as I’m a public transport commuter and have a partner that lives 4 train hours away.
I have, on a few occasions, rebooted my reading habit from traveling by airplane.
I have found that if I do everything I can to feel as good as possible before a flight, and bring a book in my carry on, it’s one of the rare situations that there is nothing pulling me away from reading. I went somewhere for work last month and I finished 2 books on that trip. That made me really happy and motivated to keep it alive.
I love books
My biggest recommendation is to avoid asking for recommendations online, particularly in reading - centric communities.
People love to pretend their favourite books are classical just through sheer pretentiousness
The most genuine people you’ll find in life are the ones that are perfectly happy to admit they fucking love a trashy thriller
What are your reading habits like?
When I pick up a book I typically get hooked after ten to fifteen pages and then complete it on the same day (think ~100s of pages in hours, ~1000s pages in days). This often results in me semi-self-destructively finishing the book and then not touching a book for at least a few days as I have to deal with the things I neglected while reading.
What do you like to read?
Mostly Novels
What kind of stage of life are you in, and how does that affect it?
Have you made any changes, positive or negative, to your reading habits?
I went from physical books to reading a lot on my phone. This allows me to read easily and blend in better while in public. It comes with the advantage that I break up big monolouthic reading sessions with small micro breaks.
What else?
Even though it’s somewhat obvious: I also like to get books that aren’t in my native tongue, I find that reading teaches you a lot about the application of a language.
Got to around 30 yrs old
I realized that I, on paper, really like non-fiction books. In practice, I really only like fantasy and space operas (different than sci-fi)
Every night before bed, I read 10 pages or a chapter. Whichever comes first. Can always read more, but not less.
So to answer,
Almost every night Fantasy / space opera Mid 30s, father I’ve added audiobooks to my commute The most important part (I think) is figuring out what you like, and then setting a small but achievable routine
Ive never been able to physically read books, I end up getting bored, reading the same page over and over etc I just can’t concentrate on it long enough and as such always thought I didn’t really like books.
Then I discovered audiobooks around 10 years ago.
Now I get through probably 100 plus books each year and fucking love it. I always listen to books at work whilst doing stuff like setting up machines, I’ll listen to them whilst doing chores, or working on my bike or any other kind of task like that.
If I’m not enjoying a book after around half an hour or so I’ll just drop it and move on unless it is something I really want to get into but as ive got older I apply this mindset to a lot more things and find in general it makes things a lot more enjoyable than trying to force stuff I’m not enjoying.
I mainly read fantasy and horror and never read to learn or anything like that, it is purely for enjoyment!
Do you ever use librivox? There are a few specific readers I found there that are great for me to fall asleep to.
Librevox was actually where my journey into reading began so yes, ive used it extensively.
It is a great resource for sure but also some readers I absolutely could not stand and would stop listening based on how they read or the way they pronounced stuff that annoyed me. Conversely there are some absolutely great readers on there as well.
This is how I found hat kinds of stories / genres I liked in the first place by just going through their library and listening to random stuff. Finding authors I liked and then bingeing everything I could find of theirs.
I started my journey off with Lovecraft and Edgar Rice Burroughs on there and still go back sometimes and listen to the recordings people have made for librevox. I have a special place in my heart for the caspak trilogy as they were the first books I ever really got into!
This is a librivox comment. All librivox comments are in the public domain.
Who are your favourite readers on librivox? (If you feel comfortable sharing)
Moira Fogarty and Ruth Golding
Thank you, will check them out
Almost 40, comfortably established with no kids, so life is overall pretty easy.
I got into audiobooks on Libby and have gotten through about 400 in the last 4 years. I listen while I’m driving and sometimes while doing chores, but mostly I listen while hiking or paddling - on a weekend backpacking trip I can get through 3-5 books.
My books are almost all what I would call “human adjacent non-fiction” - science and information related to people and the planet, but I don’t find deep science like quantum physics relatable enough to be interesting.
I love to read and learn and wish more people wanted to talk about books, but book people and outdoor people don’t overlap that much.
Because of how important reading is
Reading itself isn’t what’s important, it’s mental stimulation that is. And more importantly stimulating different parts of the brain.
Reading itself isn’t what’s important, it’s mental stimulation that is. And more importantly stimulating different parts of the brain.
It’s important if you want to understand how the world works on a deeper level. There’s a reason that all scientific research is primarily presented in the written form.
Although I assume OP is talking about fiction which is a different matter.
My sleep-routine is that I read (usually my kindle) in bed at night.
It’s kind of great both because I like reading, but also because it makes me fall asleep.
I read a shitload of manga so I try to balance it with a book every once and a while
Early 40s here. I read a lot, but never books.
I read online. I get information, jokes, funny stories and random bullshit.
I can’t imagine myself sitting down and reading a book in the near future. I don’t have the time, and if I did, there’s so many other things I could be doing for much more personal benefit.
