Hey Reader,

It has been months since I have had a discussion post on here so for today’s post I am going to give you a look into my reading life. One thing I get from other people is “you read a lot” and for the longest time I hated that. The statement felt condescending and laced with judgement. If I had a dollar for everytime someone said this to me I’d have so much to buy more books!

I find the phrase “you read a lot” subjective. For one I don’t see it so it’s difficult for me to see where they are coming from. I am surrounded by readers, I follow so many book bloggers and I am relatively active in the book community so when I hear that I read a lot my first instinct is to be defensive ” but so and so has read more than me!” I tend to feel like I have done wrong by reading X amount of books. There is that feeling that I need to justify myself, and for the longest time I did. now not at all

If you follow my #FaithReads2020 thread on Twitter then you probably are getting a front row seat to my reading updates. At the time I am writing this post I have read 65 books. Yes, 65. To some this is a big number, to others not so much. The biggest problem comes about when one makes comparisons. I am a fast reader. I live and breath books and I have identified ways that help and boost my reading. I do honestly do not expect anyone to keep up with me, and at the same time I do not pace myself with anyone else. As it should be. We all read differently and whether it is one book a month or 20 a month, it doesn’t matter as long as you are reading.

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That being said, I am going to share the things that I do that see me reading more.

  1. I always have a book with me. Whether I’ll read it or not, I always carry a book with me. You never know when you’ll need it.
  2. Multi-Reading. I talked extensively about this here.
  3. Reading immediately after I am through with my book. What I mean is, the minute I finish a book, instead of leaving it at that, I pick up my next read and read a few pages or one chapter. This helps me avoid a reading slump and I know I have a book to get back to.
  4. Mixing up the books. (both size and genre)
  5. Reading what I want and when I want to. Sometimes there is pressure to read new releases or hyped books but I have learned to avoid that. Instead I read what I am in the mood for.
  6. Curving out reading time. I refuse to say I am too busy to read. On the days I am tired or exhausted, I give myself 30 minutes reading time. I have ingrained it into my routine that not a day goes by without me reading at least for half an hour.
  7. Reading in different formats. I realised early on that I read ebooks way faster than I do physical books. So you’ll find me reading both hardbacks and ecopies and audiobooks as of recently. read april
  8. Reading Challenges and Readalongs. It took me a while to realize which challenges that best suit me and when I did, I saw the difference it made in my reading. Not to mention, they are so much fun!

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At the end of the day there is no magic trick or life hack to reading. You simply pick a book, and read. Repeat.

Do you have more to add to? Share with me in the comments.