Greetings friends and happy new year! It’s been a long time and I’ve missed my bookish corner of the internet. Truth be told: it’s kind of hard to blog about books when you are not reading books. 2024 was basically one massive reading slump from mid-January until September, when I started reading again for graduate school (but I promise, you don’t want me to review what I was reading!).
My Patreon voted for this topic about a year ago but I never got around to finishing and posting it. If cultivating a reading habit is on your list of New Years resolutions, you’ve come to the right place
Benefits of Reading
Why should I want to read more, anyway? Because it’s good for you (and fun, too)!
If you’re a follower of this website or book blogger yourself, you definitely have experienced the benefits of reading for yourself, but the post felt incomplete without a brief foray into the many benefits. I read a handful of scientific journal articles for this section and it was interesting to read about how reading positively affects our body beyond simply my anecdotal “I feel better when I read *shrug*” attitude. Let me know if you’d be interested in a longer, dedicated article on this topic as I certainly would be interested in a deeper dive!
- 30 minutes reading a day can decrease stress in the same way as 30 minutes of meditation. [Source]
- Reading in bed before sleep instead of scrolling on your phone improved sleep quality in a 2019 study. [Source]
- A 2017 NIH-funded study found that reading books over other types of reading materials (or not reading at all) provided a survival advantage. “A 20% reduction in mortality was observed for those who read books, compared to those who did not read books. Further, our analyses demonstrated that any level of book reading gave a significantly stronger survival advantage than reading periodicals.” [Source]
How to Cultivate a Reading Habit
You’ve decided that you want to read more books, and that’s the important first step to cultivating a reading habit. But if you want to build a habit that sticks, you have to make it easy and attractive to do instead of the variety of other distractions vying for our attention at any given moment.
Having recently read James Clear’s Atomic Habits, I am currently obsessed with his 4 rules for habit building: make it easy, make it obvious, make it attractive, and make it satisfying. You’ve got to set yourself up for success and make action easier than not, but also satisfying… because progress is slow and we are hard wired to want seek reward and gratification. (Side note: the book is really good and I highly recommend it!)
The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader.
When you break down who it is you want to be (a reader) and the small (atomic) habits that make up a person who embodies that trait, you set yourself up for success.
Pick a Reading Time and Place
If you are the type of person who thrives on a daily routine, what better way to get more reading in than to choose a time of day to read? Perhaps start your day with a book and a cup of coffee or wind down for bed in a comfy reading spot with a cup of tea. Whatever you choose, make it a satisfying ritual.
Use an App for Reminders & Reading Streaks
For someone like me who forgets to take vitamins without a phone reminder, having a daily reminder for reading is helpful. Do I read every day that it pops up? *gestures to 11 months of 2024* No. But it helps remind me that it’s something I’d like to do and I usually do not clear the notification until I know whether or not I will read that night.
🎉 Related Post: All About Bookly: Get organized with your readings. Learn all about Bookly’s features and how I use it to track my reading!
Since I’ve finally started reading for pleasure again, I noticed StoryGraph also has a reading streak function that is single-handedly responsible for me reading . Reading streaks make it satisfying by tapping into the reward centers of our brain and giving me a feeling of a job well done.
🎉 Related Post: All About StoryGraph – a better goodreads, finally!. Learn about The StoryGraph and make the switch from goodreads.
Read Books in Multiple Formats
I love reading physical books. I love their feel, their weight, their smell. But sometimes I am curled up in bed and holding a hardcover book open is the last thing that I want to be doing. I used to never read more than one book at a time, and on those nights I would just miss out.
I wish I could remember which bookish pal suggested reading books in multiple formats to me years ago, but thank you all the same! While not my preferred format, eBooks are incredibly convenient and my reading pace is a lot faster. While I still struggle with multiple books at a time, as long as they are vastly different formats (and genres) the benefits outweigh the need for jogging my memory on the plot.
DNF Freely and Without Guilt
Life is too short to spend it reading books you are not enjoying. Full stop. Many a reading slump has started due to forcing myself to read a book instead of just setting it aside forever and moving onto something else.
There are something like 3,000,000 books published in the United States a year alone when you account for self-published works [Source]. Add to that the millions of books on the backlist, there are so many books to read: why would you spend time on something you don’t enjoy?
Back when I first started reviewing books, I felt an obligation to never DNF review copies. I got over that pretty quickly and still get more review requests than I know what to do with. It’s fine, they get it. Not every book is for every reader, just be respectful in your write-up.
Tips from Other Readers
Nicole @ Thoughts Stained With Ink: I think the thing that has helped me develop a reading habit again this year (finally!!!) sounds super cheesy but it really worked: understanding myself and allowing my reading to reflect that. Whether it’s picking books I know I’ll like (lessening DNFs) so I don’t get into a slump (because reading bad books will do that to me and thus, break the habit); understanding my schedule and how my brain works so I can actually set a reading goal challenge that is realistic instead of “fitting in” with what other book blogger’s read so I stay encouraged and it feels doable; giving myself permission to reread so I finish series (as I’ve finally accepted I have a shit memory and I won’t enjoy catching up on a backlist series if I don’t reread it first); knowing that I’ll have dry spells because I have more hobbies than just reading and that’s okay; but also getting off of social media has helped wonders. It’s a long-winded answer but I truly think sitting down and thinking about ME and only ME and what I want my reading to look like and creating a habit that realistically reflects that without allowing the comparison or “bookish societal expectations” bullshit to color it has really helped!!
VenusBloo: Read while doing other things. Download the Kindle app on your phone and read while you eat, wait in line at the grocery/bank/etc. Every little session adds up!
Haley @ The Caffeinated Reader: I find that not pushing myself toward a goal helps, I like to have one, but I mean I guess like don’t burn out. When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, it helps to take a step back. I don’t stop reading entirely when that happens, I tend to find lighter things, maybe I’ll do a reread of a book I know I love (something shorter/quicker) or I go to graphic novels/comics cause they’re still valid, and I think sometimes people forget that not everything needs to be like a NOVEL
Let’s Chat!
Thank you for being here! Please drop in the comments to say hello and share your thoughts on developing a reading habit – do you agree with my suggestions?
This post is brought to you by the Reader Voracious patrons. Please take a moment to check out their content!
Haley • Bex • Vicki • Lauren • Davida • Liz • Nicole • Jen • Bethany • Sam • Cshover • Vernaida • Venus • Yvonne • Amanda • Caro
💖 If you like the work that I do here at Reader Voracious, consider fueling my Java Chai consumption by buying me a ko-fi or joining my Patreon! ☕
I have to learn how not to finish a book without feeling guilty. Thanks for the reminder. This is an insightful post. 🙂
KAAAAAL WELCOME BAAAAAACK *ahem clears throat* also I adore this post so much. I would be interested in a deeper dive into those studies. I don’t know where my reading habit stemmed from to be honest as I’ve been reading since I can remember. Although I do think it was more of ‘this is my primary form of entertainment so I shall be between the pages’ since now I’m able to explore other forms of entertainment (like video games, dramas, anime etc) my reading sits on the backseat more than it used to. I don’t mind though because I’m honestly happy as long as I read one book a month. I don’t think I could read everyday as that would stress me out but for me the ‘reading habit’ is just making sure I’m still picking up books and not forgoing them completely.
Definitely agree with you on the DNF though and like another thing I do as a blogger is remind myself that I’m not ruining a perfectly good book by stressfully reading it to meet a self imposed deadline. My posts will still be there in my drafts, I can take my time with the books and enjoy them. It was something I wanted to be mindful of when I began creating content again that ‘requires’ me to have read the books I’m talking about. I’d rather postpone the content then not enjoy a book I otherwise would have loved.
What a great post to make a blogging comeback with! I like the practical tips here. Having different formats on hand is one habit I’ve tried to build but haven’t succeeded with. Your anecdote about readng in bed is relatable! I keep trying to remind myself to keep an ebook on hand in Libby, so I can curl up and read on my phone before bed instead avoiding reading cos I don’t want to prop up a hefty book.
YES to the DNF! If a book isn’t working, you just have to put it down. Not DNFing books caused me to get burned out on reading a few years ago. It felt more like a chore.
I have a hunch that the “20% reduction in mortality” among readers is related to the decreased stress levels, but I’d be curious to see if that was the same conclusion the researchers came to or if they found other reasons.
I’m glad you’ve been reading for pleasure again! There are so many wonderful books out there to find.
From what I remember, decreased stress levels was a chief correlation made in that study. Good to see you Nicole, and I hope you’re well!
So many books and not enough time! I am thrilled that one of the courses I am taking this semester is a literature course and most of the reading is going to be fun. We started the semester with Breakfast of Champions, which has been lovely! Of course, I don’t know how much other fun reading I will get in with so many novels on the darn syllabus, but it’s nice to feel like myself again.
I love that you added those articles and also “DNF freely and without guilt” That is so important and not often mentioned in posts like this!
Thank you! I definitely feel like so many of my reading slumps are a result of trying to force myself to read books I am either not in the mood for or actively hating, or both. The articles were super interesting, too. Glad you enjoyed the post