How to rediscover your love for reading

Distractions. Waning motivation. Time pressure. Let‘s face it: we all live through that. In hard times, even what we love most can become challenging and, sometimes, feel like a burden. But it is never too late to act and rekindle our everyday joys. In this short blog post, I will try to guide you through concrete steps you can take to rediscover what matters to you. For my part, I had lost touch with my reading habit and, thus, reading will be the focus thereafter. But rest assured that such actions can benefit your own. Let‘s dive in.

Don‘t force it on yourself

When trying to fuel your interest, pushing yourself to read through a book that can‘t hold your attention will never be fruitful, whatever the book. What‘s more, you risk ridding yourself of the benefits the book could bring you if you wait for the right opportunity to read it. Rushing through a book is the best way to miss the finer ideas of the author if not outright misunderstand his ideas. The beauty in reading comes from the contemplation, the reflections, the discussion, and the growth. I have found that, in my worst moods, not reading a book and taking some time for myself is the best way to guarantee that the book will be enjoyable when I DO get back to it.

This doesn‘t mean you should not read at all. But you should not feel ashamed if you drop a book for another, even if you don‘t come back to it. After all, your time is valuable and should be spent with what enhances it. This is the perfect place for shorter or lighter reads. Can‘t get through a particular passage in James Joyce‘s Ulysses? Maybe grab a short story waiting on your nightstand or a poem this time around.

But give it a fair shot

Now, there are some benefits in perseverance when the motivation is lacking. For one, it fosters the habit, which is crucial. Although, as specified before, you should try to not burn yourself out. Adjusting your pace is more often than not the best way to stay the course. Having difficulty reading is a sign of mental exhaustion: reading slower, going back a few pages or even taking a break could be advised. Reading faster is surprisingly also useful. Can‘t get through a specific page? Maybe you should skip through and go on to the next one or the next chapter. True, you could lose a crucial detail but would you have appreciated it in your current state? You would still get something out of the read and that‘s the most we should hope for. Besides, the accomplishment we feel when finishing a book is an essential part of why we gravitate toward the next.

Read differently

Curiosity is another common delight of reading. It hence makes sense to build upon it. One way to do so would be to read via a different media. Poems, comic books and interactive fiction bring a different perspective that might be the push you need to read. For my part, audiobooks did wonders to pull me through my plight. It helps immensely in continuing reading while doing chores when making time for reading alone feels like a task. Just make sure to not blaze through books and still give them the attention they deserve.

Reading from authors of traditions you are not as familiar with is another great way to promote curiosity. The same can be said of WHEN the authors lived. A Russian romantic from the 19th century will write differently than a 21st-century Pulitzer prize winner from New York. I encourage you to broaden your horizon and push out of your comfort zone: go seek poems from China‘s Tang dynasty, odes from the Byzantine Empire or modern calligrams.

Changing where your books are coming from is great, but shifting where you read them is also of value. People accord feelings to places. As such, if you reach a low point in your reading, continuing to use the same spot to read could bring back those negative emotions and bind them to your next read. The same can be said for the time of day. This is in part why it is so important to create a place and time specifically for the act. So, go ahead and create that comfy reading abode you always wanted. Go take a walk, appreciate beautiful landscapes and bring a book with you. Read alone late at night or early in the morning with the rising sun. The key here is to associate positive feelings with reading. Feeling secure, rested and content before reading is a great way to link such feelings to your read and increase the chances you will want to reach for the next read.

Put a premium on the right motivation

Feeling unsatisfied while reading is a sign that your motivation is waning. Luckily, that‘s something we can work on. Revisiting why you read is a suitable first step. You might uncover that your priorities have changed and that reading can still satisfy them, but differently. Setting goals is also a great tool to spur yourself. Do make sure that those goals are achievable though, as you could otherwise downplay yourself. It is paramount that we don‘t link that kind of emotion to your reading. Your goal could be finishing x books in x time or something as simple as making sure to read a page every day. What counts is that the goal helps make your reading consistent and joyful. It should be also easy to keep track of your progress, as this is another great way to foster your passion. Reading regularly is a great way to make it a habit and a reading habit is the BEST way to ensure that you continue to do so.

Reading is often seen as a deeply personal commitment. Looking within yourself for motivation does make sense. But we should not underestimate what others can do to help you read. Humans are (somewhat) social animals and we should use that to our advantage. One classic way to do so is the everpresent book club and, while it is quite effective, it is not for everybody. Depending on how it is structured it could also demand more effort or attention than what you can comfortably muster and we don‘t want to affect you so. Socializing about books can be done with anyone at any time, no need to regulate it if you feel like it would burden yourself. Surround yourself in book conversations whether it is on social media, at events or in private. Oh, but books can be integrated socially in many more ways than in conversation alone. Visit places of literature like libraries or museums. Build a community book-sharing system. Work on a book collection. Write a book yourself even. Make books interesting to you again. Anything counts.

We‘ve made it this far

In the end, reading can be a rewarding, rich and delightful endeavour. It can benefit anyone, but not necessarily anytime. Cultivating the right mindset, habits and context can multiply its value. And remember that, if you currently feel down about your habits, you did reach the end of this text, as short as it is. Take pride in that and use it to get to your next read. I leave down below some recommended reads that I feel could help you get to that. Hopefully, this read will be the first of a long chain of fulfilling reads that you will remember in years to come.

Cheers.

Other recommendations

• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (Theater)
• Fruit Basket, Natsuki Takaya (Manga)
• The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tay (Detective Novel)
• A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (Classic cozy read)
• Essays, Montaigne (Laid back philosophy)