How to get back into reading

Hi guys. Today I have quite a different post for you. Some people find it hard to keep the habit of reading after reaching certain events or changes in their lives. They might have really enjoyed books once but they simply gave up reading over time for some reason or another. Life is unpredictable. Things change, stuff happens and along the way, you suddenly realize that you simply don't have time to read anymore. So in this post, I'm going to show you little things you can do to gradually introduce reading back into your life. 

This post has two parts so make sure you scroll till the end. In the first part, I highlight a few reasons why we sometimes disconnect from reading. And in the second part, I suggest a few things that can help to get you back into reading. So let's start.

I used to love reading but now I... just don't?

Time management is tricky. Whether you're starting a new academic year, you just started a family or your job is obliterating all your free time, life can take a toll on your reading. Here are a few scenarios where this can happen:

You're starting uni for the first time and you're either too anxious (that would be me) or too excited to focus on reading.

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Started university is a huge deal whether it completely stresses you out or it's the one thing you've been anticipating your whole life. Between meeting new people, learning your way around the campus and wrapping your mind around the fact that you now have to actually study again, it'll take weeks for you to sink into a more or less normal routine. So, you might not have time to catch up on your favorite book series and it's totally fine.

You have a job. And you're tired. Very tired.

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Whether you're working regular hours or double shifts, it doesn't matter. You're working and that in itself can be tiring. All you want to do when you get back home is take a long shower and spend the evening watching your favorite TV show. That chunky bestseller you bought in a frenzy all those months ago is looking less and less appealing and as days go by, you're slowly coming to terms with the knowledge that you're never actually going to read the damn book.

You just started a family and you're too busy taking care of your new bundle of nappies and cuddles to remember that book you abandoned midway on your nightstand.

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Parenthood is a profession in itself and getting the hang of things takes time. Not to mention energy. Lots of it. So who cares if your TBR is gathering dust? You have a mini me now and you should definitely take the time to enjoy it.

You've fallen out of love with the only book genre you used to read and now you simply have no idea what you want to read next.

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Vampire love triangles just don't do it for you anymore. But then neither do post-apocalyptic scenarios appeal to you. Literary fiction puts you to sleep faster than history classes and contemporary just don't have enough fangs in them. Basically, you just don't know what's left for you to read.

School's over and you just have too many other stuff happening next to pick up a book.

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You might be too busy applying for college or you might be already working. Or, you know, you might be actually enjoying the end of school by taking a well deserved vacation. It's fine, we're not judging. We all need a little break from things every now and then.

So I want to start reading again but I'm not quite sure how...

You need to get excited about books again before you feel the urge to start reading them again. Remember that little thrill you felt when you got your hands on that last Harry Potter book? You need to find that little thrill again. Here's how you can do that:

Start watching BookTube videos. (You know, YouTube videos dedicated solely to books.)

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Watching those videos was what actually got me out of my slump and back into reading again. Watching other people gush about the books they love is bound to get you excited about picking up a book too. Plus, you'll be getting new recommendations in there which are going to help you explore new genres that you might have neither even heard of. Like, I love magical realism but it wasn't until BookTube that I even found out about it. The BookTuber featured here is Christine and you can check out her channel here.

Read an old favorite you used to really love.

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Revisit a book you already love to remember what it was about it that made you love reading it so much. Then, either look up other books by this author or check online for recommendations based on the book to find what you'll be reading next.

Get a Goodreads account to keep track of your reading progress.

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On Goodreads, you get to track your reading progress page by page. You can also see how many books you've completed. This will motivate you to read more and give you a goal to look forward to. I joined Goodreads immediately after getting out of my reading slump and to be part of the community there has definitely made reading a tad more exciting for me.

Read with your kids. They'll love it, I promise.

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Just because you're a parent doesn't mean reading has to be completely banished from your life. If your kids are young, why not take some time each day to read something to them? Not only will you both be reading a little everyday, but you'll also be building memories that I can assure you your children will cherish forever. Indeed, one of the my favorite childhood memory is of my dad reading to me each night before I went to bed.

Listen to audiobooks on your way to and from work.

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Having an audiobook on while you're driving or riding the bus or metro to work will help you get some reading done even if you don't have time to actually read. Plus, if you're listen to them on your way back home too, it'll give you something to look forward to during the day so that by the time you're listening to your book again, you're genuinely excited to pick up where you'd left off earlier. The feeling of anticipation and the excitement of finding out what happens next in your book will gradually translate into excitement for actual physical books and soon, you might start picking up books more and more regularly.

So that's it for this post guys. This was a post I really enjoyed writing and I hope you can find some useful tips in here. As always, your comments are most welcome. Until next time...

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