Reading has always been my passion, so it’s dreamy to review and write about books as part of my job. That’s why three colleagues and I decided to start a book newsletter – The Bookish Drop – to take our passion to new heights.
Each week, we bring you the best bookish news, events, and gossip. We’ll even share our top book-related products, hints and tips about how you can always avoid reading slumps, and keep you regularly updated on our yearly reading progress to motivate you to read more, too.
Reading a lot isn’t about proving anything to anyone – it’s about listening to the experts when they share that reading is fantastic for your mental health, and much better than spending all your time doom scrolling on social media.
Picking up a book for even just a few minutes per day can have huge positive effects on your mental health, reducing stress and promoting proper relaxation. Studies suggest as little as six minutes of reading can lower heart rate, ease muscle tension, and alter one’s state of mind. This can lead to a decrease in anxiety and an improvement in overall mood, which is only a good thing.
But what are my hacks to help you read faster? First, it’s important to set aside some time to commit to reading, every single day. Or, if that’s not possible, at least a couple of times per week.
For example, if you want to reduce your screen time, it’s good to try reading just before you go to bed – even if it’s on your Kindle.
If you give yourself half an hour before you get some shut-eye, you’ll find you can get a lot more read than you anticipated, and this means you’ll be able to commit to reading a whole book in a lot shorter time than you ever thought possible.
Another method that may help you pick up your book more is to track your reading. When you get that little dopamine hit when you mark a book as read on Goodreads or Storygraph, it makes you feel like you’ve really achieved something.
This way, you almost gameify reading for yourself. And you can also add your pals on these platforms, so you can see what they’re reading too.
Also, I’d say that having a reasonable ‘reading goal’ for the year on these platforms is ideal. If you’re new to reading, make sure your goal is achievable – you don’t want to say you’ll read 100 books when you’ve barely been surpassing five a year for the last few years.
If you set a goal that’s achievable, you’ll likely surpass it, and feel great about yourself and your reading goals. Start off small – you can always change it further down the line. For example, this year, I started off wanting to read 70. I finished that quite quickly, and I’ve ended up slowly upping it to 170 so far, and I’ve read 160 so far.
Having a TBR (to be read) list can also help you to read more, as you’ll know that you have a list of really good books to read, and you’ll be looking forward to them. I’d recommend clearing out the books you’re certain you won’t read though, as this can clear your headspace and make way for the amazing titles you know you’ll be able to read easily and enjoy.
If there are books you really aren’t looking forward to reading, or aren’t interested in (maybe books you’ve been gifted in the past) just sell them on, or donate them to charity.
Ultimately, reading should be enjoyable, but if you’ve been wanting to read more, then these are definitely things that can help you.
Another motivator is, of course, signing up to The Bookish Drop. It’s your one-stop shop for all things bookish, and we’re always listening to what our readers want and including more of what you love.
You can sign up here, and get in touch with us at thebookishdrop@reachplc.com with any feedback, recommendations, comments and thoughts.