A Guide To Reading more in 2022

Introduction:

The corona virus has been pestering us for months on end and we’ve had to sit at home and all we’ve been doing right now, is binge-watching our favourite series on Netflix a midst of working at home, watching gardening videos and thinking what to cook for lunch and dinner. All those wonderful books that are sitting on our shelves are getting dusty by the day, waiting to be read at some point of time. Whenever we look at our bookshelves, we tell ourselves: “I will read this, this and that this year.”, however, that never happens. During this lockdown, I too have binged on K-drama, but I also have read more books than I usually do. Here are some tips for those of you who have been saying: “I’m gonna read more books this year” but haven’t been doing so.

Read multiple books simultaneously

My father reads many books at a time. He reads one book, reads the parts he finds interesting and when another book catches his eye, he starts reading it. I’ve always been a person who reads only one book at a time and I never touched another book until I finished the one that was in my hands, even if the book was really boring. But now, I read two books at the same time. One is for during the day, usually some heavy literature or a good piece of fantasy and the second one is for night-time. Since I read the second one before going to bed, it’s either a self-development book or a light romance.

Declare a DNF

A DNF is short for Did Not Finish. There was this one book I read up to the half-way point but stopped because I couldn’t put up with the way it was written and also because the story was way too dark. The hard part about declaring a DNF is you think that the book may become interesting down the line and the book remains boring till the end. After reading that book you may think: “Ah, what a waste of time”. If you are reading a book you’re really not interested in, simply declare a DNF.

No one’s going to blame you or scold you for not finishing a book. It’s completely alright if you don’t finish a book from time to time. Don’t force yourself to read a book in a genre you don’t like just because your friend highly recommended the book to you.

Learn the Art of Speed-Reading

Speed reading is not just about reading as fast as possible. It’s about how much information you can gather and retain in just one blink of an eye. The “one blink of an eye” is not a metaphor for reading quickly, for those of you who thought so. I’m serious and I mean it. Right now, as you are reading this, tell me how many words you can see. This is called your eye-span. The wider your eye-span, the more words you can see and the faster you read. You read a bunch of letters (a word) as a whole as opposed to reading each letter individually. When you are speed-reading, youaresupposedtoreadlikethis. Take a group of words and try to read it as a single block. Slow readers read like this: Hello, my name is Samvidha. Whereas speed-readers read like this: Hellomyname isSamvidhaand todayIam goingtoteachyou howtoread fast. This takes time and practice.

Another problem you may encounter while speed-reading the loud voice in your head. The reason why this slows you down is because reading with your so-called mind-voice is exactly the same as reading out aloud. So, you need to shut down your mind voice and let your eyes do the heavy lifting. Your brain is capable of processing information quickly and react accordingly. Don’t worry about missing out on information and it’s okay if you skip a paragraph or two because only 20% of what you read is important and the rest is irrelevant.

Read every single day

If you want to read more books, you need to make time for it. I recommend you to read during the time you watch Netflix. Reading books, especially physical ones is easy on the eyes and pulls you into another world the same way Netflix does, but in a better way.

Choose a comfy corner in your house which can be dedicated as a place for reading. For me, it is my bed because that’s where I feel the most comfortable. Keep a warm drink and DON’T play music in the background. Recently, I realized that when there’s music in the background, I can’t really concentrate. Silence is the best kind of music while reading. You can organize your thoughts only when it’s quiet.

Listen to audiobooks

I haven’t tried this yet myself. According to many articles and Youtubers, listening to audiobooks also counts as reading. If you want to listen to something while working, then this is perfect for you. Instead of putting on your favourite playlist on Spotify, try listening to an audiobook. It is perfect for when you are on the go and you don’t have to carry the weight of a physical book in your bag

Conclusion

Reading is one of the best things a person can do to not only entertain oneself, but also to gain knowledge. One should appreciate the pleasure and joy that can be derived from reading a book. It takes you away from the real world and into one that is mysterious and unknown, through the eyes of another character with a very different or same personality as you. All I want to say is, enjoy it. Look at it as something that you enjoy doing, something that takes your mind off stressful things.

Thank you for reading this article and Happy Reading!