The No Guilt Guide to Reading More Books

Culture

Apr 7

Reader’s guilt is real, y'all.

If you haven’t gotten far on that 100-most-essential-books-you-must-read-before-you-die list, or your annoying friend says “What do you mean you haven’t read *insert-trendy-book-here*!? What rock have you been living under??” don’t panic!

Around here we are all about guilt-free living, yet pushing ourselves at the same time. Both/And, remember? And while we’re at it… the only person who thinks all 100 books are a must-read is the person who created the list. The key to reading more is finding a rhythm and pace that actually works for you and your honest-to-god, down-in-the-dirt life.

As with anything else, developing reading skills takes work. One of my mentors taught me years ago that “without an adequate answer to the question why, any price is too high.” So let’s start at the why. I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole of how readers are leaders and all that, I promise. But I also believe that reading regularly helps us connect dots, cross-pollinate ideas, and expand our horizons.

Here are a few starting points to help make reading a bigger part of your life:

Don’t stress over books not worth finishing

Even if everyone says something is a must-read, it’s ok for it to not be your cup of tea. Here’s a wild idea — if you don’t enjoy it, stop! If you don’t believe me then please listen to Oprah, who famously advises that you stop reading after 50 pages if you don’t like a book. I’ve found it helpful to download a sample on my reader and get a sense of the book before committing to buying it. This also helps me determine the format I want to use. Some books are better in print, others are great digitally, and some I want to listen to while I run errands or take a walk.

Craft your reading based on your mood

One of the reasons we talk ourselves out of reading is because we’re not in the mood to read the thing we have going. Embrace how multidimensional you are and make a plan to fit that. Having more than one book going helps you get excited about picking it up again. And while we’re at it, don’t limit yourself to books only! Magazines, blog posts, and cookbooks count in our book. It’s all about finding things that expand your horizons. I personally enjoy reading fiction before I head to bed and non-fiction in the morning before work. And don’t forget that audiobooks can be just the ticket as well! Find what works, but variety is the spice of your reading life.

View your To-Read list as a guide, not a To-Do list

Think of it as a cookbook. It’s great to use for inspiration but who plans to cook every single recipe? This little mental shift will change things. Use your list for inspiration, not a whip that reminds you of how much you’re falling behind. If you haven’t already created a list then start one now. Keep it on your phone, easily accessible so that you can add to it when inspiration hits. That way when you finish something next or need a different genre you won’t put off picking up something new just because it’s too much trouble to think about what next.

Book summaries are your friend

Cliff Notes get a bad rap, but gaining a working knowledge of a book is one of my go-to tips. I personally subscribe to Blinkist. (Hint: there’s always a coupon somewhere, so you know what to do.) While they only summarize nonfiction, it’s the best way to get the key idea from some of the world's best personal development and business books. Often just the summary is enough for me to learn useful information. It’s become the way I scope out if it really is worth reading the book on the latest top-whatever lists. I’ll know right away if it’s one I want to add to my library and take the time to get to know the author over my morning tea.

When you have a little mental space, search out book inspiration

Goodreads is a nifty community website that allows you to connect with lit fans around the world. There are millions of ratings and reviews aimed to help you discover something based on things you already like, and while it can get intimidating at times because some people take their reviews SO seriously, it’s a great place to poke around. Also, if you don’t have a library card what are you waiting for? Yes, it’s a pain to get to your local library to set up an account, but once you do their virtual portal is a great way to discover books by genre.

Dust off the old Girl Scout motto - Be prepared

Do yourself a favor and if you haven’t already, use the Pocket app. Trust me, it’s the perfect way to tuck away things to read when you only have 5-10 minutes but don’t want to default to endless scrolling. Anytime you say to yourself; “Hm...this looks interesting” but know you can’t afford the distraction at that moment— bookmark it! The next time you’re waiting for the subway, you’ll be prepared.

Read things you normally wouldn’t reach for, but don’t do it alone.

Some books need to be discussed. Join a Book Club, or start one yourself if you can’t find one that’s appealing. My club only reads fiction. I chose it because that’s not my normal go-to type of reading, and I wanted to push myself into more novels. Not only does it hold me accountable to read more fiction but I’ve found I tune in more knowing we’ll discuss it together, so it pushes me beyond my comfort zone a bit. Ok, the wine isn’t a bad perk either!

We hope this helps to release some guilt and inspires you to cozy into a newfound love.

At the end of the day, a reading habit shouldn’t just be about always challenging yourself. Yeah, it’s a great way to learn something new, explore a different perspective, or understand what you don’t know much about. But if you only choose books based on what they can do for you, reading will start to feel like a chore pretty quickly. It’s okay to take a minute every so often to just go smell a book. We won’t tell.