So many books, and so little time!

Serious book lovers like myself love to fantasize about being able to read more.  Literally every morning of my life I think about just blowing off the whole day and catching up on my reading.  Life in the 21st century, however, doesn’t exactly make this possible.

Some people, though, have figured out how to read a lot.  It is possible, even with a full time job, to work more reading into our lives.

With that in mind, we’ve put together these simple tips to help you do just that:

1. Read with a Clear Head:  With so little time in our lives to read, make sure you’re mentally available to read before even starting.  If you’re still winding down from a crazy day at work and can’t concentrate, do something else.

2. Do Your Homework First:  We’ve all started a book only to discover it’s not what we expected.  Instead, make sure you know what you’re committing yourself to before starting.  The Internet is full of online book review sites.

3.  Establish Reading Rituals:  In the story above, Kulley has an established routine that includes reading an hour each morning over breakfast.  Figure out what times work best for you and schedule around them.

4.  Set Daily Reading Goals:  Take note of how many pages you read in a typical day and establish goals for yourself.  You might need one daily goal for workdays, and one for days off, but monitor your goals and stick to them.

5.  Keep Track of What You’ve Read:  Mandy from To Read, Or Not To Read suggests keeping a list of what you have read.  As your list grows it can “fuel your desire to read more.”  Websites such as GoodReads and Shelfari can aid in the process.

6.  Disconnect:  Get away from the phone and electronic devices in your life.  As with #1 above, if you’re not able to concentrate on the reading, you’re better off doing something else.

7.  Use Your Commute:  I can’t say enough about audio books.  Although not technically reading, it’s a terrific way to make use of a mundane commute.  Check out some of the audio book resources at The AudioBooks Blog.

8.  Make Reading A Priority:  If reading more is a priority for you, then you need to, well, make it a priority.  That probably means skipping out on something else.  Take an inventory of how you spend your time and see if reading can be elevated above other priorities.

Please let us know if you have other suggestions by commenting below!

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