Books are some of life’s great pleasures, as anyone who’s ever spent hours immersed in a gripping tome knows well. Reading can also improve memory, vocabulary, empathy, sleep quality, and longevity, among other benefits.

Yet in our era of smartphones and perpetually available distractions, it can be quite hard to motivate to read. Although I spent most of my childhood with my nose in a book, I definitely went through a period in my adult life where I struggled to read, and found myself opting for social media or television far more frequently than the books I had once treasured. 

Fortunately, there are some easy strategies out there that make reading a whole lot more accessible. Some of these genuinely transformed my relationship to reading, which I now consider to be one of my life’s central joys once again. In honor of World Book Day on April 23, here are five tactics to try if you’re looking to read more.

1. Read multiple books simultaneously
2. Choose books that you actually want to read
3. Develop a daily reading habit—but keep it manageable
4. Track your reading habits and goals
5. Keep a book close by at all times

Read multiple books simultaneously

Reading many books at the same time is an extremely effective way to increase the amount you read overall. If you’re in the middle of multiple reads, you might feel inspired to pick one up while your interest in another is waning. Almost all books have slow periods, after all, so having a couple of different choices can make it easier to get through those without getting completely stuck. 

Also, some books are better suited for different moods—the motivational text you read first thing in the morning may not suit your desire for a gripping fantasy novel on the train home from work, and so on.

Choose books that you actually want to read

This strategy probably helped me more than any of the others on this list. In college, I spent most of my time reading classics for my English major, and then also forced myself to read classics outside of class. I got out a lot of each of these books, but this also led to a bit of a slowdown in my reading habits overall.

To break my reading slump, I finally dipped into a couple of buzzy contemporary fiction titles. Opting for lighter, easier books that I could tear through in a few days helped me get back into the rhythm of reading regularly. Soon enough, I felt more inspired to tackle some of the classics that had been on my list forever. Today, I always make sure to return to books I know will be addictive and highly readable if I ever find myself in a reading dry spell. You won’t read if you’re not truly motivated to do it, after all.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that it is okay to not finish books, particularly if they’re weighing you down and causing you to associate reading with the feeling of slogging through molasses. Letting go of the books that don’t suit you will make more space for the ones that do.

Develop a daily reading habit—but keep it manageable

Habits are key to developing almost any skill, and reading is no different. Setting a goal to read 20 pages or one chapter per day is a great way to start to fit reading into the rhythm of your life. Soon enough, you just might find yourself reading much more than the amount you committed to. 

It’s important to keep your goals small and reasonable, especially if you’re just starting out on your reading journey. A small goal that you’ll actually meet is much better than a large goal that’ll feel insurmountable after a few days.

Track your reading habits and goals

When I was trying to get back into reading, I set annual Goodreads goals that increased year after year. This was extremely helpful in motivating me to read more, and I got pretty competitive with my challenges for a while. 

Nowadays, I prefer to just read however many books I feel like reading each year. In general, though, keeping track of the books you’ve read can be a great way to celebrate your achievements or get real about how much you’re actually reading. Also, it’s a great idea to keep a list of books you want to read so you’ll have something on hand when you’re looking for your next book, or so you’ll notice when your library or local bookstore has one of them in stock.

Keep a book close by at all times

One of the best ways to read more is to make it extremely easy to do just that. Because of this, it’s a great idea to always have a book within arm’s reach. Sometimes an e-reader can help with this a lot.

I initially had a lot of resistance to giving up paper books, but eventually I realized that I simply owned way too many of them—whereas an e-reader allowed me to have ten books in my handbag at any given moment. I soon started only buying paper books that I knew I wanted to have on my shelf for the rest of my life, and eventually signed up for my library’s eBook platform. 

Now, I never go anywhere without several books at my fingertips. Overall, keeping books or your e-reader close by at all times is a great way to make them appealing alternatives to your phone. Soon enough, you’ll be filling moments you once used for doomscrolling with epic romances and adventures through fanciful landscapes, or whatever it is you love to read about.

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