Like a lot of people, I used to read a lot as a child but have found it difficult to keep it up as an adult. My reading list is at least a hundred books long, but it just doesn’t seem to move compared to my YouTube consumption or social media consumption.
I’ve tried simple to complicated methods. Previously I used to record all recommendations into Google keep with just the name of the books, now I have a more sophisticated Google sheet where I also record the person who recommended it, as well as a status/priority column where I record if the book is low/medium/high priority and then move it to done/abandoned when completed.
The problem is that even with this many guardrails it’s still hard to keep the train moving. I tend to leave a lot of books unfinished because something else strikes my fancy, but I would prefer to just have at most two or three books on the go and make sure I finish them before moving on.
I think what I need is a set time or activity through which I can make sure that I’m reading. A few ideas I have: read self improvement/psychology books while i have lunch by myself once a week. Read general interest books on my walks through text to speech. Read spiritual books while on the subway on my way to yoga. I think it’s important not only to have a variety of books but an activity to pair with it, and it makes sense to pair the activity with the genre that benefits it the most.
I’m slowly starting to adopt this framework and hoping to make it my new process going forward… I’ve read atomic habits lately and I want to try and employ some of the skills taught in that book.
Welcoming any thoughts, improvements or tips anyone has to offer on the subject!
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I make a list of all the book I want to read eventually. I read from my kindle, and use Libby and ebookiq to check when books go on sale. I put books on my holds shelf on Libby, and watch list on ebookiq. Whichever book become available first, I read. lol.
It has a prettier cover.
I put the one I want to read the most at the top of the list. Then the one I want to read the second most in second. And so forth. It works well for me.
“What do I feel like reading next?”… “That one”.
Honestly, I understand the struggle… but only because I get most of my books as ebooks from the library. That means they’re on hold forever, and then when they’re finally available (all at the same time… happens EVERY TIME), then I have two weeks to read them before they go back.
I end up with several physical books that I don’t finish because I quit them in the middle to read my ebook… with the intention of picking it back up after I finish the ebook… but then ANOTHER hold becomes available…
I read a lot and a wide variety of genres both fiction and nonfiction. One thing I do is not try to read them all at the same time. I have times of year where I read more nonfiction and times of year when I read more fiction and other times when I take a bit of a break from daily reading.
I used to have a massive library of unread books, I estimate between 800-1000, it stopped bringing me joy and started to feel like a monster chasing me. So I purged the vast majority of them and started over with a single box of books for work and another box of books I felt I would likely read within 2 years.
It’s now been 4 years and I’m reading more than ever and this year I set a goal to read or release the last of the books I kept. I no longer have an official TBR list. I rarely buy books because I primarily use the library.
I do have a casual list of books that caught my eye, I keep the list on my phone and add to it from time to time, but I don’t feel committed to reading anything on the list. When I need to add books to my library queue I look at the list to see if anything catches my eye and see if my library has it and if it decide if I’m still interested in reading it. I also scan the list to see if there are any books I can delete.
I never want to feel pressure to read a particular book. Perhaps it’s because I’m older, but I don’t usually get recommendations for books from social media influencers. I also feel like most best seller lists or awards are manipulated so I no longer trust them. I think the most common way for me to find a book is by setting goals or joining challenges that lead me to research a book on a particular topic or some element that meets a goal or challenge prompt.
I’m using my library apps a lot more which puts pressure on me to read books within a window of time. I have holds which will come in gradually over the next few months and it helps keep me really motivated.
I try to abide by FIFO but honestly I’m going by the seat of my pants bc I’m such a mood reader lol
I have an insanely complex system where I read what I want to read now. Then when I finish a book, I follow it up by reading what I want to read. I’ve been repeating that cycle for approximately 50 years now.
What’s the oldest book on my shelf (year of publication)? That’s where I start and then ask myself if I’m in the mood for that one or the next one in that order. So pretty much almost random.
1.Whatever is available on my tbr list in the library.
2.Whatever I feel like reading.