Make Reading a Pleasant Habit
Do you envy people who can bury themselves in a book and tune out the world for hours on end? Are you among the many people who would love to read more, but just feel restless, distracted or bored while you do it? Unleash your inner bookworm by following the advice below.
Steps
- See an eye doctor. There's nothing like an eyestrain headache to lay your reading plans to waste.
- Decide What to Read what you want to read about. You'll be much more motivated to read if you choose a book or magazine that you actually have some interest in. Check out the staff picks at some local bookstores, read book reviews in a magazine that interests you, ask some friends and family what they recommend and why, or pick your favourite TV genre and ask a librarian to recommend a book in a similar style. Make sure the subject is interesting to you.
- Don't allow public or peer pressure to choose your reading material. It doesn't matter if "everyone's reading it." If you have no interest in a vampire love story, don't choose to read one. If you have no interest in football, don't choose a football player's biography. Choose what you are actually, personally interested in. If you try, but find that you don't care that much for fiction (novels, such as "Twilight" or the Harry Potter books), try biographies or informational books. You can read about political personalities, Hollywood celebrities, royalty; you can read about World War II, or Genghis Khan, or the Civil War. You can read about how to prune trees, how to cook, different dog breeds. Or you can choose to read classics such as "A Christmas Carol" or "Moby Dick." There are all sorts of books to choose from. Choose one you want to read, not one all your friends are reading (unless you really are interested).
- Give yourself a time and a Find a Nice Spot to Read to read. It should be quiet, comfortable, and designed to make you feel relaxed.
- Make yourself comfortable. Some people like to lie on a couch. Some people like to sit in a chair. Some like to use an ottoman to prop their feet up, some like to sit at a table and lay the book down when they read. Whatever makes your reading effortless and comfortable is what you should do. There are little laptop tables with swiveling tops that you can angle for a reading surface. Sitting in a chair with your book on a table at a comfortable angle and distance can help you focus on the book rather on your arms getting tired from holding the book at the proper angle, or your hands going to sleep.
- Take care of other priorities before you sit down to read. If you've never been able to settle into reading easily, you will make it that much more difficult if your mind is blazing over errands you still need to run today, work you need to do, or calls you need to make. Accomplish these things first, then read. A quiet mind will have more resources to dedicate to imagination.
- Give it a really good try. If you have trouble imagining what you're reading, practice closing your eyes and describing a daydream to yourself while you picture it in vivid detail. If you only have trouble with this one book, ditch it. There's no point torturing yourself. Every book is not for every reader.
- Sprint, rather than marathon. Read in bursts if this is more your style. Rather than try to read a book from cover to cover over a weekend, take a break every now and then to stretch, snack, listen to a song, sleep, and think or talk about what you're reading.
- Don't read alone. Find a reading buddy to read funny stories out loud with.
- Join a book club. When others are reading the same book you are, the group always needs to slow down to accommodate all schedules and all reading speeds. This way, your group may read a chapter or two per week - or maybe you will agree to meet in a month, after you have all finished the book you've agreed to read. Then you can discuss things you liked, disliked, were confused about, and also talk about the meanings and significance of the things you've read.
- Consider an e-reader. A wide variety of e-reader and reading apps for smartphones and tablets will let you read whatever book you want in a digital format.
- Read when you have time. If you're an avid Internet user, you might often come across interesting lengthy posts or articles that you currently don't have time to read. Special software like the Pocket app or the Reading List feature in the Safari browser lets you save the material for further offline reading.
- Treat yourself (in moderation) when you read. Have a chocolate, compliment yourself for meeting a goal, read something erotic, do something that you already consider a pleasant habit.
- Recommend your favourite books to other readers, and get together to talk about them. Call your brother and/or sister and encourage them to read the book you are enjoying. Tell them to hurry and read it so you can talk with them about it! Sharing the reading love is a great way to make reading a pleasant habit.
Tips
- Sitting still for too long can make your muscles hurt. Take time to wiggle while you read.
- If you can't get into a long book, try a serial, short story, literary magazine (one with few ads, so your brain doesn't get cluttered) comic or, for kids, picture book.
- Never stay in one place for more than fifteen minutes. Keep moving from one place to another for each chapter. Include breaks when you are feeling tired but promise yourself that you'll come and continue reading.
- Start small and easy, with books that you can enjoy with someone you love.
- Impress the importance and fun of reading on your kids by reading with them. Talking books, TV and the internet are no substitute for your loving companionship. Read things that they like. Do it every day, starting as young as possible, for at least half an hour.
- Take literacy classes if you are facing barriers to reading, including less access to education or a different learning ability.
Warnings
- Not every book is worth finishing. Cut your losses. The world is full of great books - don't waste hours on one you aren't enjoying.
- Not everything you read is true. Even if it says it is.
Things You'll Need
- Comfortable chair
- Reading table (optional)
- Good lighting
- Bookmarks (an assortment is nice)
- Pencils or pens, or highlighters. Don't be shy about marking your books up, unless they are valuable first printings of some sort.
- Refreshments at your side table (cookies, cheese, fruit, drink)
