Introduction

I got back into reading for my own enjoyment about five years ago. Like many other readers, the COVID-19 lockdown revitalized my love of reading. I was gifted all this time to dedicate to my hobbies and passions, so picking up a book was easy. When school started back up in person, it became easy to stop reading. I did not want to stop reading for enjoyment again. I decided in Fall 2021 that I was going to figure out how I could balance school, extracurricular activities, my job, and social life alongside my passion for reading. It took me about a year to figure out how to insert reading into my post-COVID life. Then, it took two years after that to learn how to read 50+ books in a year. This year, I have firmly established my best practices. To celebrate hitting my reading goal of 2024 last week, I thought I would share four tips with you to help you all on your reading journeys!

Foster a Love of Reading

I have my parents to thank for my love of reading at a young age. Since I learned to read in Kindergarten, my parents have actively worked to foster my love of reading. I use the word “actively” in that sentence because I believe that it is something that parents have to put energy and time into. My parents never said no when I asked for a new book. They modeled good reading practices by being readers themselves. My parents would take me to the library anytime my books were due (which would always lead to me checking out a new book or two). My dad would ask me about what I was currently reading when he would pick me up from school or soccer practice. My mom would even lend me her Kindle. I am so thankful for all the time, talent, and treasure they put into my love of reading. All of this aided me in becoming the reader I am today.

I know that not everyone has parents who fostered a love of reading in them although it is up to each individual person to promote it for themselves in their adulthood. When I stopped reading, it was up to me to reignite my passion. I fell back into the habits that my parents ingrained in me but I adapted them to the adult version of myself. I checked out romance or fiction books at the library and this encouraged me to finish them before the book was due. I chatted about my current reads with anyone who would listen. I utilized my own Kindle (instead of just stealing my mom’s) and I am now a loyal Kindle Unlimited subscriber. I recommend that you find what works best for you. Maybe it is consuming content about reading online. Maybe it is creating a book journal. Maybe it is rereading books that you loved as a child. It is up to each of us to find that passion for reading instead of relying on outside forces.

Utilize All Reading Formats

If you had told me two years ago that I was reading more digital and audiobooks than physical copies, I would have laughed. I was converted to the “dark side” when I started reading digital books in December 2022 because my parents got me a Kindle for Christmas. I had heard such good things from other readers who invested in a Kindle and how it benefited their reading habits. Once my dad had helped me set it all up, I took my own advice and reread a series that I loved as a child (The Hunger Games trilogy). I love reading on my Kindle. It is so easy to read on my Kindle while I am in bed. I am bringing my Kindle with me to London because it saves me so much room in my bag. Kindle Unlimited aids me in saving money (since the price of Kindle Unlimited is cheaper than the average cost of a paperback in the United States). Kindle Unlimited also encourages me to read outside of my go-to genres and explore indie authors. I have read 5-star books from Kindle Unlimited that I never would have picked out otherwise. If you are hesitant about buying a Kindle, you can subscribe to Kindle Unlimited and read on the Kindle app on your phone. Just give digital books a chance!

If I had to point to one thing that helped me reach my reading goal this year, I would say that it was audiobooks. In January 2024, I decided to try reading audiobooks. My first audiobook was Daisy Jones and the Six and I recommend this book to anyone trying to get into audiobooks. Audiobooks have benefits that physical or digital books don’t have. Audiobooks give so much emotional depth to the characters that I don’t think you get from the physical book. A fun fact about me is that I listen to all audiobooks on 2x speed so I can finish an audiobook way faster than reading a physical copy. I get my audiobooks from Libby which is an amazing tool that all three of the St. Louis library systems utilize. (Libby is also great for digital books!) Now, I know that some people do not consider audiobooks as “real reading” because you are listening to them. I do not want to get into the nitty gritty of defending audiobooks (or even digital books) as “real reading”. Instead, I want to pose this question to you. Why does it matter to you how other people consume books? I do not care how people read books as long as it makes them happy. So, if you do not like reading physical books, many branch out!

Cut Down on (Unintentional) Screen Time

When people find out that I read 50+ books every year, they always say “How do you find the time to read that much? I don’t have enough time in my day to read a single one!”. My truthful answer is that I only spend about 3-4 hours on my phone every day. I know that this is not the answer that most people are looking for. Most of the time, people just want me to talk about my reading speed. Although, how does my reading speed help me reach my reading goals if I do not carve out time to read? Let’s talk about screen time for a moment. Most Gen Zers spend about 7 hours a day on their phones with Gen Alpha projected to spend even more time. For some context, if you spend 7 hours a day on your phone, you will spend about 18 years of your life online. A high amount of screen time can create a stress response in your body and change the way that your brain releases dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol. How scary is that?

Believe me, it is not easy to cut down on your screen time. It is something that I still struggle with although I have gotten so much better at it in the past 4 months. If you do not trust yourself to be able to just turn your phone off, there are so many settings in your iPhone that you can rely on. I have time limits set on almost all of my social media apps because it helps me cut down on mindless scrolling. My phone automatically enters Do Not Disturb mode from 8:00 PM – 8:00 AM every day to help me stay off my phone at night (which is a great time for reading). During times were I am waiting at the doctor’s office or for class to start, I try to turn my phone off and pick up a book. When I sit down to read, I set my phone away from me (sometimes in another room). I find that as time goes on, I am less and less dependent on my phone. I am not saying that all screen time is bad. I still text my family about seeing a new movie together, call my friend Nidhi from her dorm room hundreds of miles away, and send Meris at least one TikTok a day. I focus on cutting down on screen time that stops me from living my life to the fullest. If reading is really important for you, you will find time for it. You just have to put in a little work and put the phone away.

Find Your Community

I basically put this section in because I want to talk about The Novel Neighbor. When people ask me about my favorite local bookstore, I always say Novel Neighbor (even though I have to drive 30 minutes from my house to get there). But let me tell you, the drive is worth it. The really special thing about The Novel Neighbor is the community of readers that they have created in St. Louis and I think a big part of this is reflected in their author events. My first author event with Novel Neighbor was for Sarah Penner. I went with my mom because she loves Sarah Penner and I thought it was something fun to do together. I did not realize that this would be the first of many author events although I should have guessed it from the way I could not stop smiling while we were there. There is something so special about getting to hear about what goes into creating a book that you love surrounded by people who share your passion for reading. I remember talking about The Lost Apothecary with a woman in front of us in the signing line. I do not remember her name or what she looked like but I remember the impact she had on me. Through this simple interaction, I found a community that I did not know I was missing. I have met some amazing people through these author events, including some of the people who work at Novel Neighbor. I have gotten 5-star book recommendations. They have encouraged my reading habits and celebrate my successes. It is such a positive force in my life.

To say that my mom and I are frequent flyers at Novel Neighbor author events might be an understatement. While I have gone to some author events with friends, my go-to person is my mom. It is something special that we do together and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It has strengthened our relationship and brought us closer together. It gives me a chance to spend a couple of hours with my mom during a busy week at university. We get to catch up while we wait for our turn in the signing line. I love getting to read the same book as my mom and then share our thoughts with each other. These author events have given me the chance to connect with my mom over books again. We have created our own little book community between the two of us. If you are in St. Louis and you have not yet been to The Novel Neighbor, please stop by! I promise that you will find a community that will support you on your reading journey!

Conclusion

To wrap up, I want to emphasize that I know that reading 50+ books a year is not a reality for most people. I don’t care how much you read; I just care that you read. Did you know that about 46% of Americans did not read a single book in 2023? That statistic is really scary to me because reading is so important (especially with book bans on the rise in the United States). My goal for this blog post is to urge everyone to read a book in the remaining months of 2024 and equip you all with the tools to do that. I hope you feel ready to tackle your reading goal!

If you have some questions about the picture attached to this blog, I don’t blame you! Since you have read this far, I will tell you that it was taken in Target by my best friend Maya.