5 Tips to Recommit to Reading:
- Make a reading schedule.
- Look for books you’ll actually enjoy.
- Read shorter pieces.
- Read news articles.
- Hold yourself accountable.
When I was twelve, my world revolved around a stack of books that stood as high as my hips. I piled novels my parents bought me, overdue library books, and multiple book series from my cousins into a massive collection I could work through whenever I wasn’t busy—which was most of the time. Reading was fun and an easy hobby to keep up with, considering I was a child with no responsibilities.
Now, as I’m keeping up with college applications, extracurriculars, and occasional part-time jobs, I’m lucky if I can read more than three books for pleasure each year.
I’ve seen a lot of teenagers and adults go through similar situations. Between jobs, education, and managing social lives, many people who used to read for fun simply don’t have the time anymore.
Another issue could be the shift from child and young adult books to more mature titles. Unfortunately, there aren’t many series for adults that capture the same thrill and fan bases as Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games.
It could also be from “burnt-out gifted kid syndrome,” a phenomenon in which children with exceptional abilities grow stagnant from academic pressure as they grow older.
These three factors combine into an all-time low in reading. According to a Gallup survey from 2021, the average American reads about 12.6 books per year, with 17% of those never reading a book at all.
Making reading goals can be incredibly difficult, but there are strategies to consume literature regularly.
1. Make a reading schedule.
Committing to books can be challenging! On average, most full-length novels take six to 30 hours to read. Most people can’t spare this time between 40-hour work weeks or being full-time students, which could be a leading factor in former readers dropping books as a hobby.
Try setting aside time to read. It’s important to be realistic–someone juggling work, school, family responsibilities, and a social life can’t expect to read several books a month. For people with very little free time, reading for an hour each week might be a more feasible solution than trying to finish novels as quickly as possible.
If scheduling reading time is still challenging, there are also opportunities to read on the go. Even away from home, there may be chances to pick up a book while commuting or during lunch or work breaks.
2. Look for books you’ll actually enjoy.
Don’t force yourself to read from a genre you hate. As you start out trying to read again, it’s important to enjoy the experience and find books you actually like before trying to expand into unfamiliar genres and authors.
That being said, this doesn’t necessarily apply to reading books for school assignments. While not always perfect, the classroom environment introduces novels to expand genres and equip students with invaluable analysis and interpretive skills.
It’s also important to research books before reading them. Holly Jackson’s series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, garnered a lot of popularity online, with over 40 thousand individuals currently reading its first installment on Goodreads. Although it’s famous, it may not be for all audiences, especially those sensitive to death, violence, or drug use. While the first book mainly received praise, the final installment in the series received slightly fewer positive comments, drifting from a 4.34 to a 3.85 star rating on Goodreads. Although minor, this could be an indicator to commit only to the first novel, or be aware that the story’s quality degrades throughout the series.
Some good sources to find this information could be Amazon, Goodreads, or book reviews on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.
3. Read shorter or different media.
Not all good writing comes from full-length novels! There’s something to be gained from reading poetry, magazines, comic books, and even song lyrics.
Stemming from a comic series, the Scott Pilgrim franchise is known for blending different storytelling methods with a video game plot progression. Its translation to film, video game, and anime are deserving of careful analysis as the events and visuals of each adaption shift slightly to tell the same story. The source material also draws from writing techniques used in literary classic The Catcher and the Rye, as the comic uses the same stream-of-consciousness storytelling and thematic symbols featured in J.D. Salinger’s novel.
Song lyrics can also be incredibly powerful, especially when viewed in the context of an album. In Mitski’s “Francis Forever,” the artist builds a theme through a chorus that compares the world’s perception of the narrator to how the narrator’s lover perceives her. While this could illustrate how the narrator values her lover’s perception of her over the world’s, it could also indicate Mitski prioritizing her creativity over the music industry. When viewed in the context of this preceding track on the album: “First Love/Late Spring,” the song sounds like the downfall to a budding relationship. Not every song has meaningful lyrics, but listening to critically acclaimed musicians or popular concept albums could lead to tracks with value.
These are just some of many examples of media beyond the standard novel with literary value. Analyzing albums, comic books, magazines, and other content is vital in expanding entertainment comprehension and usually takes less time than reading a book.
4. Read newspapers.
Newspapers are an entirely different breed of media that can cover a wide range of genres. On November 5, The New York Times website featured a story on banks unexpectedly closing down their customers’ accounts, presidential approval polls, and an article titled “Nicolas Cage Reclaims the Memes.” There’s much to learn from the news and a diverse range of stories from each section. With a wide range of perspectives, reading the news can be accessible to all and tailored to a specific experience, such as finding a summary on a current issue to a host of viewpoints on a specific topic.
Make sure to research before committing yourself to the news, especially for those that require subscriptions. Publications like Vox, Associated Press, and Reuters are good sources that don’t charge their readers. For papers based near Project Write Now, look for The Two River Times, The Coast Star, Asbury Park Press, Monmouth Journal, The Coaster, and Red Bank Green.
5. Hold yourself accountable.
There’s no point in setting goals if they’re never completed. Maintaining plans can be difficult, so finding a way to stick to objectives is one of the most important parts of reading. One of the simplest ways is to set deadlines. For example, if you schedule time to read 50 pages of a 300-page novel each week, it’s realistic to set a reading deadline on the calendar in six weeks.
If writing deadlines down isn’t enough, having a reading partner can also hold you accountable. Reading with someone else opens an opportunity for discussion and sharing insight, but only if you and your partner can reach the same part of a book at the same time. Not only will you have to follow reading due dates, but you’ll also have more experiences to share.
Another option is to track what you’ve read, whether it’s through a journal, Goodreads, or Apple Books. Some programs even keep track of your goals and how close you are to completing them. This can be vital in making sure you’re sticking to your goals.
Final Thoughts
While I don’t think I can whittle away at a three-foot stack of books again, I still find time to read during downtime. Using these strategies, I’ve read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, several editions of The Two River Times and The Coast Star, and Molly Ostertag’s comic book, The Girl from the Sea. This won’t look like everyone else’s reading list, but I believe these strategies can benefit anyone looking to pick up more literature!
