If you guys didn't know, I set a goal for myself to read 24 books this year. This would be the most I have ever read in one year probably ever (if not in my recent adult years.) I like reading, but I am just slow af at it. This year I am taking my reading goal seriously though, and I wanted to share a few tips on how I am planning to read more books in 2018!
1. Set A Goal
First, you need to set a goal for how many books you plan to read. Setting a goal and putting that goal out into the universe is a great way to make that goal come to life. Setting your reading goal is easy if you sign up for the site Goodreads. They have a yearly reading challenge that you can sign up for by putting the amount you want to read in their tracker. Then as you read books, you can update your Goodreads profile with updates along the way and when you finish the book. Each book you finish within a certain year is put towards your reading challenge.
If you want to friend me on Goodreads, check out my profile!
Break Down your goal
Once you have your main goal, break it down further. Reading 24 books sounds daunting, but breaking it down to one book every two or so weeks makes the act of reading 24 books way more manageable.
Then as I am reading each book I can break down my books page numbers by 14 days. This way I am reading an equal amount each day. If I read more than the bare minimum amount one day, that's good, that just puts me further ahead of schedule.
Strive To Read A little Bit Each Day
You may not be able to pick up a book and finish it on the same day with your busy schedule, but you can make a small dent. Each small dent that you make adds up over time, and before you know it, you will have finished an entire book. Don't look a book that you want to read and be intimidated by it's size. Just read the book and keep reading.
2. Sign Up For A Book Club
A book club is an excellent way to push yourself to read more books and a wide array of books each month. Your campus may have a book club as a student organization or there may be one in your town or local library. If you are unsure where to find local book clubs, I suggest that you check out Meetup's Book Club topic. There are tons of book clubs in cities across the world on the page.
On top of that, there are many book clubs online that are looser and allow you to get ideas for new books to read. Checking out the Goodreads Groups page is a great way to find online book clubs to join.
Whatever book club method you choose, you are bound to find some new books to read!
3. Sign Up For A Book Membership
There are SO many book membership boxes out there now. Signing up for one is so simple and easy to do. My favorite is Book Of the Month, but there are tons out there for you to try. Book memberships are great because they get you out of your book reading comfort zone. You can discover new (and new to you) authors, you can branch out and try new genres, and you can get a box curated around bookish items. What's not to love?
If you are looking for some other book subscription services to try, I encourage you to check out this list from My Subscription Addiction. They listed the 10 best book subscription boxes as voted on by their readers, so you are bound to find a box to love there.
4. Utilize Services like Amazon Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited
Amazon has a ton of services that help you read way more.
Amazon Prime Reading comes with any of your Prime memberships. With Prime you have access to a TON of extra material on your Kindle. There are so many great books that you will be able to read for free just because you have Amazon Prime.
As another option, you have Amazon Kindle Unlimited which is $9.99 per month and gives you access to tons of additional titles over Amazon Prime Reading. For the price of one digital book, you can get tons per month. This is great if you plan to read a lot this year and you imagine yourself reading more than one book from your Kindle per month. The best part? There is a 30-day free trial so if you wanted to try Prime Reading you wouldn't pay a cent today.
5. Listen To Audiobooks using Audible
Another Amazon service that is so helpful for reading more books is Audible! I definitely consider Audible reading a book. You have to be at least somewhat focused while listening to an audiobook to make sure that you are understanding all the knowledge that the book is imparting.
I love using Audible to speed through some books that would normally take me weeks to finish(literally, they have an option to speed up the narration.) Also, sometimes I just absorb content better when I am having someone read to me. Why did we stop being read to? I didn't sign up for an adult life where I am not read to!
Sometimes I will even have a physical copy of a book and an Audible copy so that I can follow along while the narrator reads to me.
You can get two free audiobooks right now if you click the banner below. I really suggest listening to Year Of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, Born A Crime by Trevor Noah, and/or Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg on Audible. They all narrate their own books and are all fantastic at it.
Conclusion
I am hopeful that 2018 will be the year that you (and I!) crush our reading goal! With these tips you can make a dent in your reading goal and always have material to read to boot!
What are your best tips for reading more this year?
The Comments
Jessy
I like listening to audiobooks. I am hoping to read more this year – thanks for the ideas.
Amanda Cross
JessyThank you so much for your comments, Jessy! Audiobooks are one of my favorite ways to listen to more books!
K.T. Lynn
Love the post and the blog! Cute photos. Good luck on your reading list 🙂
Amanda Cross
K.T. LynnThank you so much for your sweet comments, K.T.!
zahra
I love audible, and I also recommend the app Overdrive.. It connects to your local library membership and you can check out audiobooks from there too!
Amanda Cross
zahraThank you so much for your tip! I never knew about Overdrive, and I want to check that app out now!
Monika
I’ve read 17 books in the past year which the most ever!! And how I did it? Well, I made it a habit to read every night before going to bed – at least few pages. I realized it actually works as well as meditation so that kept me going! 😉
Amanda Cross
MonikaLove your tip, Monika! I will definitely be reading every night before bed or every morning when I wake up. Reading is so peaceful!
Megan
It is fate that I found this post!! Yes!!! I’ve been wanting to set a goal of 50 books this year. Don’t know if that’s possible. But I think this shall help me get to 25. I LOVE your blog girl. So full of happiness!!
xo Megan 🙂
Amanda Cross
MeganI am happy that you found this post. Megan! I am not sure I could ever personally make it to 50, but I have faith that you will tackle and complete your goal (whatever you set.) Good luck on your reading journey.
Kiana
I’m a librarian and I wholeheartedly approve of this post!
Amanda Cross
KianaThat’s awesome Kiana! Being a librarian sounds like a dream job!
Lauren
This is a great post! I also want to read more this year 🙂
http://www.packandpaint.co.uk
Amanda Cross
LaurenThanks for commenting Lauren! I hope you crush your reading goals this year!
Juliette | For the Sake of Good Taste
Absolutely love these tips! I’ve started off the year pretty strongly, but these will definitely help me keep it up as 2018 progresses!
Amanda Cross
Juliette | For the Sake of Good TasteKeeping up momentum is a struggle. It’s easy to be very excited at the beginning and then taper off. I am trying to pace myself to make sure I don’t burn myself out on reading books.
Alysha
Love these tips! I failed miserably at my goal of a book a week last year, so I’ve tried to control myself this year and go for a more reasonable number of 20 books for 2018! I’ve decided to start reading before bed instead of messing around on my phone, so hopefully that will help! x
Amanda Cross
AlyshaI don’t think I could ever do a book a week consistently. Sometimes I finish a book in one week, but it’s not usual. I don’t see how some people plan to complete 100+ books, or even 50+ to be honest. Reading before bed or as soon as I wake up is also an excellent way for me to read more.
Su {Ethan & Evelyn}
These are great tips. I’d love to read more if I have the time. I think I audio books is the answer for me. x
Amanda Cross
Su {Ethan & Evelyn}Audiobooks are a great choice if you are short on time! It is one of my favorite ways to read more books when I need to finish a book quickly. A book that would take me hours upon hours can be completed in 6 hours or less with a good audiobook!
Angelica
every new year I say I want to read more but never let it happen. Gonna use your tips to finally put it in motion. Thanks!
Amanda Cross
AngelicaGlad to see you will be using these tips, Angelica! I hope that you crush your reading goals this year!
Talus Tate Boerner
One of my tips is Hoopla. With Hoopla you can download free audiobooks from the library. And it’s free!