How to Read MORE

My goal this year was to read 26 books.

That's one book every two weeks, and I decided this would be more than enough, especially with my packed schedule. However, so far this year I have read 47 books (181% of my goal). Yet I've been doing more lately and packing as much into my time as possible.

Today I am going to share my secret sauce of how I read more, even when I don't have time.

^ Why does that sound like a sketchy read-more-quick scheme? O_o

1. Audiobooks

I used to listen to audiobooks all the time. While you may still prefer physical books, if you want to read more, you learn not to be picky. Especially if the voice actor is really good.
What's even better is that you can sometimes put the audio on 1.25 to 2x speed and it will take you much less time to listen to the book -- as long as you can understand the human voice on fast forward. XD

2. Read during your commute

This ties in with number one if you're the driver. You can play your audiobook in your car, or, if you are the passenger, you can listen or read as you travel. My family used to do this all the time when we would travel to activities together. Some of our best memories are from reading/listening to books on long drives.

While reading on the commute may mean sacrificing a few minutes of social time on the bus, or kindly telling people you want to read at that time, take into consideration how much humans travel. Even if it's thirty minutes to get someplace, it's thirty minutes to get back home. Which is an hour a day and seven hours a week and 365 hours a year. Do you see what I'm saying? Use this time, friend. Make the most of it by feeding your brain and soul. <3

3. Simplify the goal

Telling yourself to read 52 books in a year seems a bit daunting, doesn't it? Even telling yourself "I must read one book a week" can be stressful. But when you break it down and say "I'm going to read ten pages a day", it gets a lot easier to sit down and open the book. (And most of the time, it read more than ten pages anyway!)

Here's the super secret step that has helped me skyrocket passed my reading goal this year:

4. Read what you enjoy

Sometimes we think we have to read what everyone else is reading, even if it makes us want to rip our hair out. Just because To All the Boys I Loved Before came out as a movie, you don't have to read the books (though I would recommend it!). They're not for everyone.
I've read so much this year because I've made the choice to read whatever I want to read. Even if it looks like I'm reading a sketchy manga. ;)

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These are my super simple action steps to reading more. Is there anything I missed? Any tips you have that have helped you read more? Please leave a comment below. This post was geared toward reading more leisurely books, but what about blog posts? Non-fiction? School books? Have anything to add to those areas? :)

How will you read more?