By Steff WillisWednesday 25 Sep 202452Q with Steff & MicahBooks & LiteratureReading Time: 4 minutes
“I wish I had more time to read”.
Perhaps you’ve said something similar when the topic of reading comes up. It’s something most of us wish we did more.
But there’s only so many hours in the day and it’s so much easier to sit down at night and burn through a few Netflix episodes.
It’s certainly a sentiment 96five’s Afternoons Announcer and cohost of the 52Q podcast, Steff Willis has heard a lot.
“When I mention that I love reading, people often express a desire to read more” Steff said.
“It’s then quickly followed with a bunch of obstacles as to why reading is impossible for them.”
On this week’s episode of 52Q, Micah and Steff discuss how to read more books, whether you’re currently reading 2 books a year or like Steff, averaging 50+ books each year.
96five’s Steff Willis
The Benefits of Reading
Whether you’ve got a negative association with reading during from school or you just feel tired after a big day at work, it’s worth overcoming the challenges to experience the benefits and joy of reading.
“Reading is proven to strengthen our brain – it expands our vocabulary, and it can also help to prevent age-related cognitive decline” Steff said.
Reading, and reading stories about other humans in particular, can help develop empathy and has even been linked to an increase in volunteering and charitable giving.
Reading is relaxing and it can help us prepare for a good night’s sleep by staying off our devices but for Steff and many others, it’s also just fun.
Overcoming Barriers
When you start anything new there will be teething issues. You can’t wake up one day and go out and run a marathon.
“You could try, but I don’t think you’d have a lot of success” Steff said.
“Same thing with reading, don’t pick up the world’s most complex, fattest book. Start with something that’s a little simpler that you might enjoy.”
Steff also recommends starting small and building up the habit.
“After a bit of a reading hiatus in my 20s, I found getting through one page of a novel really difficult” Steff said.
“I found myself reaching for my phone and re-reading sentences over and over. But I persevered. Started aiming for a chapter a night and went from there.”
“Reading is a skill and a habit and one you need to work on a little at the start, but it becomes easier” Steff Willis.
At the start, it might not feel as fun as sitting down and binge-watching TV but if you give it time, it starts to become an enjoyable activity that you will want to do.
5 Tips to Read More
1. Find Your Genre
It’s important to discover what you love to read. We all enjoy different things, some prefer historical fiction, others sci-fi or romance or Australian Outback Noir Crime, to be specific.
If you’re new to reading, try a bunch of different genres. If you enjoy a book, try reading some more by that author or others in that genre. Once you find an author you like, try searching ‘authors like ____” and get some ideas of similar books.
2. Read “Good” Books
While we all enjoy different types of books, in your quest to read more, Steff recommends quality writing and storytelling.
It might be a recommendation from someone who reads a lot or Steff recommends following the ‘Goodreads 4 stars and above rule’ that she learnt from a friend.
“Goodreads is an app you can use to track your reading, keep a TBR (To-Be-Read) list and see what others have rated books they’ve read”.
“If 20,000 plus readers have rated a book 4 stars or higher, it’s a pretty good indication that it was a solid read”.
If you’re reading the type of books that you enjoy and they’re also of a high quality, you’re much more like to enjoy them and therefore end up reading more.
3. Set a Reading Goal
Whether it’s five books a year or ten minutes of reading each night, a goal can motivate you.
“My goal of 50 plus books a year personally motivates me,” says Steff, but she notes this approach may not work for everyone.
4. Try Different Mediums
From audiobooks to e-readers, experimenting with different formats can help you incorporate reading into everyday moments. Instead of picking up your phone in the pickup line at school or in the doctors waiting room, pull your book or even easier, your e-reader.
“I highly recommend audiobooks, especially if you’re new to reading. It literally reads the book to you” Steff said.
5. Join a Book Club
One of the things we enjoy about watching tv is the social component, catching up with friends about what happened in latest episode or what you enjoyed about the latest blockbuster. Joining a book club provides the same social connection and also keeps you accountable.
Steff adopts a flexible approach to reading.
“Reading should be enjoyable. I’ll go through seasons when I’m watching a lot of sport or life is busy and I’m just listening to an audiobook while I exercise and then other seasons where I’m reading 4 books at once”.
The key is to find what works for you and enjoy the process.
Check out the full episode in the player below or wherever you get your podcasts.
Feature Image: Aneta Pawlik on Unsplash