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How To Get Back To Reading If You’ve Stopped

How-To-Get-Back-To-Reading-If-You've-Stopped

How to get back to reading – was a DM I received a few days ago in my Instagram inbox. I read it further and found that she genuinely wanted to get back to reading as she was taken far away from books and reading because of the obvious reasons like social networking sites and technology.

I did suggest her a few quick reads and engaging books to help her kick start her reading expedition all over again. But all these days I’ve been thinking, “Is suggesting books just enough to inculcate the habit she has left behind?”

That’s when I thought of writing this blog and helping her and for many of you like her who sincerely and deterministically want to know how to get back to reading.

I know we all have busier and more distracted lives than ever before. All thanks to the social network web that’s been webbed around us.

So what?

We aren’t too busy to invest time in our self-growth, are we?

So let’s get into how to get back to reading if you’ve stopped. Here are the nine simple ways you’d love to implement.

1. Find the perfect book

For me, a perfect book is the one which hooks you to it from the first to the last page. And that which assimilates knowledge and power into you.

The knowledge can be anything. It may be the beautiful characterization of the protagonist or the detailing of the city he/she lives in.

And when it comes to non-fiction, the book in itself is jam-packed with enlightenment, wisdom, hopes and information.

Since a year now, I’ve been inclined to reading self-help books. But I haven’t stopped reading novels.

The perfect book for me to get into the reading books was (as I mention in all my book-related blogs) Life Is What You Make It. You can get back to reading with either this or the below books. The choice is yours.

Unposted Letters – by Mahatria Ra

The Prophet – by Khalil Gibran

A Hundred Little Flames – by Preeti Shenoy

Tuesdays with Morrie – by Mitch Albom

For the book reviews visit my blog reviews. Click here.

2.How to read a book

Would you believe me if I tell you that there’s a book named “How to read a book“?

Well, it does exist. See for yourself. Recently, I read an article that talked about this book. This book was published in 1972 and is still a #1 Bestseller in the Literary world.

I haven’t read the book but I can help you through the reading process (from my experience).

i. Flip the book and read the blurb.
ii. If it excites you then buy it straight away. (buying a book is what I suggest and prefer. Anything free is not valued)
iii. Take in the aroma of the pages and dive into the book by reading about the author and the first chapter or page of the book.
iv. Think about what you’re reading
v. Imagine the scene.
vi. Read in intervals (unless the book is captivating)

Don’t be harsh on yourself if you feel tired after reading for 15 or 2 hours. Everyone has their own pace. Close the book if it’s too much for you to take in. Come back to the book after you feel better.

3. It’s Okay to be a slow reader

There’s no competition to be a fast reader or a deadline or a punishment. The challenge for you is to sit and read.

Sometimes, it takes a month for me to read a 250 pages book (it’s a long time). But I don’t panic about it. Sometimes I’m savouring on it and other times I’m just being a slow reader.

And that’s absolutely fine. And you can’t forget the childhood proverb, “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”
Slowing and steadily you’ll finish that one book you picked up. And if you’ve found that perfect book for starters then –bang–you’ve completed the book in the blink of an eye.

Related Article – How To Improve Your Reading Habit With These 6 Simple Hacks

4. Quit the book you aren’t liking (It’s a Bonus Tip)

At first, I was skeptical about quitting a book in the middle of it. I would consider it to be unethical.
But then, with time I understood it is absolutely fine to leave a book midway. If you’re not liking it or somehow you couldn’t connect to the characters, you’re free to stop reading.

After all, time is precious. You can’t be wasting time on a book that’s not giving you anything in return.

5. Take Good Reads challenge

Tracking your reading is a good habit. The Goodreads app helps you do that. You can also take up the Goodreads challenge.

You have to decide the number of books you’ll read for the year (2020 is coming soon, btw) and update your Goodreads challenge as and when you finish reading the books.

You’ll feel good about yourself when you see the number of books increasing.

Are you ready to take the reading challenge for the year 2020?

6. Move from movies to books

If you don’t know the book is always better than the movie based on it. I was quite lucky to have read Nicholas Sparks A Message In The Bottle first and then watch the movie.

I would have repented had I watched the movie first. The movie is just the tip of the ice-berg.
And I’d suggest the same to you. Go for books over movies. Because no two people ever read the same book.

When you read a book you see it with your unique imagination, unlike the movie. The movie is what the director shows you.

Leaving you the link here to buy A Message In The Bottle – a magnificent love story that’ll leave you stunned and amused. Grab it now.

7. Highlight your favourite quotes and share

I love highlighting those catchy sentences and sharing them on Instagram and Whatsapp. By doing this you’re connecting to other readers out there.

When you receive replies like, “So true” or “Yeah! I’ve read this somewhere” or maybe “I know the book”, you’ll feel good about your reading.

You’ll automatically get encouraged to read more and more. Try this out.

8. Invest In A Kindle

It’s been over a month since my father gifted me a Kindle (e-book reader). And I must admit my reading speed is gradually increasing.

If you’ve read physical books in the past and are getting back to reading now, I’d suggest you buy a Kindle. It’s worth buying and reading on it. I’ve written a detailed blog on how to use a Kindle. Read here-10 Cool Things To Do With Your Amazon Kindle Paperwhite!

And for the fact that you’ve invested in the device, you’re somehow bound to use it to its full capacity.

9. Discuss books with family and friends

Let me tell you something strange. I don’t have anybody in my family or friends with whom I can pour my heart out about the books I read.

But I can’t help myself discussing books and so I discuss them with my readers and my subscribers. I love when my subscribers write back to me. For me discussing books with you is exchanging emails.

So do you want to discuss books with me? Come join the party of hundreds of subscribers. I’d be glad to share my reading and self-help secrets with you. Subscribe here.

Do let me know how you liked this blog in the comment section below. I’ll be waiting. Also, some links in the blog are affiliate links. Do use them while buying the books, it won’t cost you any extra money but will pay me a small commission that’ll help me run this blog further.

P.S. All the best for getting back to reading. Welcome to the readers community.

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