Aiming for the 52 book challenge in 2020? Here’s my advice on how to do it.
7 Minute Read
There’s been a lot of talk recently about how to read faster. The trend seems to be sweeping across YouTube, internet blogs, and Instagram, with many-an “influencer” telling you how to do it just because they read Sapiens. Well, I’m not an “influencer” but I do like reading, and I thought I could provide some useful advice on how to read a book a week. Adopt some of the following tips and you’ll be well on your way to hitting that 52 book goal:
- Say goodbye to TV
- Invest in an e-reader
- Compartmentalise your time
- Remove distractions
- Listen to audiobooks
- Be selective in what you read
- Fill your waiting times with reading
- Read multiple books at once
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1. Say goodbye to TV
This is by far the most difficult change to adopt on this list; it’s also by far the most useful. When I reigned in my TV watching habits I doubled or even trebled the amount I read. The issue with TV is its accessibility and allure. Most people – if they’re tired after a long day, or want to wind-down on the weekends – turn on the TV to relax. It’s logical, and it’s great, but it’ll always be the easy option, and because of this you will go to it instead of a book. What you need to do is switch up your habits. Try giving yourself an allocated time to watch TV. For me, I try not to watch any before 9 pm, after which I’ll watch maybe an hour or two before bed. Which is still a lot, but that frees up my evening to spend a couple of hours reading instead. Often by the time I start reading I get into it and don’t feel like watching TV anyway! It’s worth a try to see how you do. If you manage to switch up your habits so you go to a book first thing when you get home rather than the TV, you will hit that reading target no problem.
2. Invest in an e-reader
I’m still an advocate for paperbacks because I love collecting books and I believe the experience of holding a book in your hands is unbeatable. But e-readers are great for so many reasons too. I personally use an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite – 5th Gen (here’s the newest version) and I like to mix and match between the two when it suits me. For example, when I’m travelling, Kindle all the way. It’s perfect because you can store all the books you want to read whilst keeping your bag light. Commuting on a busy train? Kindle again – it’s easier to hold with one hand and still grasp your bag or a handle with the other. Reading at night in bed… Kindle also. This is more if you have a partner who wants to sleep and you have to turn the lights out. If you get a Paperwhite version, it’s backlit allowing you to control the brightness. Reading by the fire, a rainy Sunday, or a holiday by the beach… paperback. You get the point. It depends on the occasion, but investing in both will increase your reading time.
3. Compartmentalise your time
This ties into some of the other points I talk about in this article and has more to do with managing your time than actually speeding up your reading. But as a result, you will find yourself being more efficient and focused when you do turn to read. If you can’t bear to part with your social media apps then it’s going to be a real struggle to get immersed in a book as you’ll find your mind wandering, desperate to pick up your phone. I like to set a timer for myself to read in 30-minute intervals. During that time I just put my phone on airplane mode. When the alarm sounds I can then do a quick scan through emails or messages all at once, then go back and do another 30 minutes reading. That way you can answer all the messages and updates at once, without it being a distraction whilst you’re reading.
I personally use the app Flora, which basically guilt trips you into staying focused. When you start the cycle you “plant a tree” and if you click off the app before the allocated time has ended you will kill your tree! If you manage to do it then you start growing a garden of your accomplishments. It may be too gimmicky for some but I think it works pretty well so it could be worth a try.
4. Remove distractions
This is going to be a subjective one as only you know what your personal distractions are. But as you have looked up how to read a book a week I’m sure you’re dedicated to changing things up… and there’s no better place to start than by removing distractions! For a lot of people, it’s social media or the TV (consider the points above). When I’m reading I often do so in a different room from my TV so it isn’t a distraction and I put my laptop away so it isn’t right next to me, tempting me to go on Netflix for another episode of Peep Show. Distractions can also come in the form of procrastination where you do anything but the task you are actually trying to focus on. I’m guilty of it, we all are. This is again where compartmentalising your time (point three) in short bursts will be really beneficial to overcoming the urge to procrastinate.
5. Listen to audiobooks
I’m a hypocrite here because I actually don’t do this. If I did make this transition I’m sure I would be able to nudge up my average to two books a week (I’m on 1.75 according to Goodreads) and hit 100 in a year. But alas, I can’t bear to give up listening to music. I get too much pleasure out of it, and getting through books shouldn’t be a competition. Don’t give up things in your life you genuinely enjoy just to hit some arbitrary number. Having said that I do see the great value of audiobooks. If you commute to work and drive, that’s time you can spend listening to a book. When you’re cooking, cleaning, or doing your make-up you can always put on an audiobook in the background. It’s also good if you have bad eyesight or a headache from a long day at work. You can get the same pleasure from listening to a story without the strenuous activity. It isn’t quite as engaging as reading but it’s a close second. If you struggle with reading but are desperate to get through a book a week this could be your answer. Just over an hour of an audiobook a day should get you through most average-length books.
Audible is very common and they offer two free books with a 30-day free trial. There is then a monthly membership you need to pay, but it could be worth doing the trial and see how you go!
6. Be selective in what you read
This is something that took me a little while to learn. Strangely when I was younger all I read were books I enjoyed and that was great. It’s only as I’ve got older and felt obliged to read the classics that I seemed to forget this golden rule. You know what genres you like, and what authors, and what writing styles. There’s no need to stray from that path initially as that’s the types of books you will most enjoy reading, and therefore, read the fastest. The more comfortable you become with your reading the more you should incorporate “harder” books into your repertoire and challenge yourself occasionally to read a classic. But if you’re hating it, it’s okay to put it down and go back to what you enjoy. No one will blame you!
7. Fill your waiting times with reading
You know that quote from an unidentified source that everyone seems to agree upon without question? “The average person spends five years of their life waiting”. Yeah, that one. Well, why not fill that time reading instead? If you bring a book with you wherever you go you’ll never be at a loose end and it’s a lot better for you than scrolling through your phone constantly. All those hours spent in doctor/dentist waiting rooms, standing in lines, commuting, lunch breaks…and so on. This time need not be wasted fruitlessly and could be filled more productively. Stephen King even claims to read on the toilet! Now that’s dedication to your craft. I once took my car in for an MOT check expecting it to be 45 minutes and it ended up taking nearly five hours. It was in the middle of nowhere, no wifi, and nothing to do. Luckily I had my Keith Richards autobiography to keep me company and the time went by in a flash. It’s an extreme example but you see what I mean. Fill those voids with literary escapism and you’ll never feel like you’re wasting time.
8. Read multiple books at once
This is a trick I learnt when trying to conquer the extremely long or dense books. Attempting to get through some of the Victorian or Russian classics can completely wear you out. War and Peace must have taken me over 40 hours to get through and I felt myself losing heart a little. It’s a good idea to mix it up with something lighter to keep your list ticking over. You could try reading a classic novel on your kindle – maybe only 20 pages at a time – whilst switching between reading a crime thriller paperback and also listening to a non-fiction self-help audiobook. You’re then getting through three books at once and will be smashing through your list in no time.
Conclusions
Okay, yes. You’ve probably figured it out by now. A lot of this advice is basically just coming off as study tips – and that’s the truth. Knowing how to read a book a week doesn’t actually involve any special tricks after all. Reading is a discipline and it requires the same kind of immersion as revision… only it’s much more interesting. You might also be thinking, what’s wrong with reading casually and for pleasure, why does this have to become such a driven pursuit? My point isn’t to make it come off as a chore; I hope that by picking up some of these tips and becoming more efficient you will get significantly more pleasure out of books as a result. I certainly found that to be the case and I hope some of you will too.
If you enjoyed this post check out some of my book reviews here, and stay tuned for more tips/advice in the future!
