How To Read More – 6 Tips From Mum Who Reads 40 Books A Year

How to read more? This question gets searched on Google over 1000 times a month. And it’s the question I asked myself early on in my parenting journey.

I’ve always loved reading ever since I can remember, but early motherhood changed my book-reading habits.

Not only was I pushed for time (hello breastfeeding, colic, and night waking) but also concentration was not always easy to achieve. Not to say I never read books, it’s just it wasn’t a priority, what with taking care of little humans.

Now that I’m past the baby/toddler stage though, I’ve now got back into making reading a priority.

After all, reading books:

📕 improves concentration

📕 is a form of entertainment

📕 is a great source of learning

📕 stimulates creativity and imagination

📕 is inspirational

📕 is truth revealing (in the case of the Bible and biblical-based books)

📕 is good for your general knowledge

📕 improves vocabulary and language skills

So, having said all that, how on earth do you read more with all of life’s demands.?

Here’s what I do:

1. Create readings routines

Ever since I’ve got back to reading more, and now that I actually have a goal of reading 40 books a year, I’ve come to see how important it is to create a reading routine.

In my case, I read my Bible every morning for about 20 to 30 minutes, and I read other books every evening before bed for about the same amount of time.

This habit is great because it happens when my kids are in bed, and I can actually concentrate.

Find times that work for you and aim to start at 20 minutes a time, and later look to read more if you can.

Ok, so I spend from 40 minutes to an hour reading during the week. But that isn’t enough on its own. I also…

2. Read at the weekend/on holiday

This is super important if you want to read more books. You don’t need to spend the whole weekend reading but if you can read for an extra half an hour each day (besides the morning and evening reading routines) it’ll help you achieve your reading goals more quickly.

If you’re going to be driving or using transport you could try listening to audiobooks, and if you’re relaxing at home why not read instead of watching T.V.?

3. Listen to audio books

Up to now, I’ve talked about reading actual books, which is super important, but there’s another great way of book input and that’s listening to audiobooks.

I only started this properly this year and already I’m a fan. I love listening to audiobooks while I’m doing chores as this saves time and it makes the chores somehow more interesting!

There are several services you can try, but personally, I use Audible which I love because it’s convenient and the library is pretty amazing.

The other great thing about Audible is that at the moment you can also access the plus catalogue with unlimited listening of podcasts, Amazon originals, and audiobooks.

4. Read ebooks

I love paper books but since starting my 40 books a year goal I’ve totally surrendered to the ebook revolution. Why?

📱 ebooks are cheaper (no printing costs means that you can get ebooks for less than a dollar, my ebook devotional is currently FREE)

📱 ebooks can be accessed instantly (if you want to save time, ebooks are for you! No waiting around for a book to come in the post)

📱 ebooks save paper and therefore trees (I love trees so I’ve surrendered to ebook reading 85% of the time)

📱 ebooks are convenient because you can have a whole library on one small device (no more lugging around three different books in your holiday suitcase)

5. Use eBook Subscription Services

One of the reasons many people don’t read more is because they think it’s going to be expensive and time-consuming to go out and buy enough books to keep them busy for a while.

Not to mention searching for the right books in the local bookshop.

Yes, if you do it like this, it will certainly be time-consuming and more expensive than what I do: library subscription service.

No, I’m not talking about going to my local library to get books (although I do on occasion), I’m talking about an ebook library subscription service, such as Kindle Unlimited, Kobo Plus or Scribd.

With these services you:

📖 get free access to over a million books

📖 can access books with audible narration

📖 can access a rotating selection of popular magazines

📖 can borrow titles as often as you want (no due dates)

Can you tell I love them? 😂

Please don’t be put off by ebooks if you’ve never tried them before. Ebook readers are especially designed to make ebook reading easy on the eyes with little to no lighting.

6. Reduce social media

Some people wonder how as a mum I manage to read three books a month, but it doesn’t magically happen, and it isn’t because I have loads of free time. Basically, I’ve replaced social media scrolling and usage and some extra sleep to fit it in.

So I read for around 30 minutes in the morning as part of my morning devotional time, and then in the weekday evenings when the children are in bed, I usually work until 9 p.m., watch a show for about an hour, and then read before bed for another 30 minutes.

(Obviously this in itself is not enough, which is why I also squeeze in extra reading at the weekends.)

So, no social media in the evenings and reduced amounts at the weekend. This is because reading has become a priority, and I’ve found a way to fit it into my life.

Now I know many mums won’t be able to get their kids early to bed or have much “off time” but I’d still urge you to use your spare minutes wisely- scroll less, read more. It’s so much more beneficial for your mental health.

That’s it from me today, but if you’d love to read more, but don’t know how to make more time for it, please check out my time-saving tips. I highly recommend routines and habits for creating lifestyle changes.

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