I simply try to read every single day, even if it’s just one or two pages.

Whether this happens in the morning or in the evening basically depends on my mood.

I don’t like the idea of having a fixed time of the day to read because it automatically feels like there’s an obligation to do it, which basically destroys the pleasure I get from reading.

1.

**Switch genres dramatically**: My trick to be consistent and read a lot of books is mixing up genres.

I’ve talked about this in a previous video but it definitely makes a lot of difference for me.

For instance, while reading a classic can be incredible, the type of writing is usually dense, complex and the books are usually quite long.

This means that after I read a classic I will pick up something much lighter, like a self-help book, a small romance or something of the sort.

If I switched to an equally complex novel I would probably feel tired and leave the book unread.

2.

**Blind date with a book**: I’ve been such a great fan of the Blind Date with a Book website.

I’ve been recently ordering a lot of books from them and they come wrapped so you only know what’s the book when you unwrap them.

While you’re browsing the website you are able to choose the topics of the books you want to order or the genres of the books and they all come wrapped individually.

3.

**Find a buddy reader**: My buddy reader is my dear friend Mary, which edits my videos and has an awesome YouTube channel which I’ll link down below.

Each month we unwrap one of these books together and then have one month to read it.

If you are struggling with your reading habits, buddy reading a novel is a great way to keep accountable for your reading.

You can create your own rules, grab some coffee and discuss the novel from time to time.

You get a lot of interesting insights out of this discussion and it’s also a great way to end up reading some books that you didn’t chose and some of them can end up surprising you.

4.

**Try reading challenges:** there are some awesome reading challenges out there, like the O.W.L. challenge which basically requires you to read a book corresponding to one of the subject’s covered in Hogwarts O.W.L. Exams, or the readathon which is an intensive period where you read more than it’s usual and set a usually unattainable goal to reach and in this particular case I think that unattainability is part of the fun.

I’ll link down below the master list for 2019 reading challenges, which of course you can reuse in 2020.

5.

**Join a bookclub:** this one is classic, but joining a bookclub will give you part of the buddy reader experience by providing access to book recommendations, insights, reviews and comments that you wouldn’t otherwise have access to if you were reading alone.

You can do this traditionally or join an online bookclub.

There are hundreds of them in Goodreads and you can find Bookclub featuring specific topics, genres and interests, whatever your Herat desires.

6.

A **book edit or yearly reading list:** I’m now a fan of having a yearly reading list, and that’s basically a list of 12 books that I promise to read in the beginning of a new year.

My goal is to read one per month but you can come up with a different way of doing this and set a different number of books and read them by quarter, season, semester, you name it.

I think that a yearly reading list sets the mood for the year and allows you to reflect on the type of readings that will dictate your year.

If you’re curious about my Reading list, I’ll link a PDF with all titles and authors down below.

7.

**Come up with random ways to pick books:** when you’re feeling like you can’t select a new book to read, just find a completely ridiculous way to pick a book.

I remember a couple of months ago I entered the bookstore with the clear purpose of purchasing a book with a golden cover.

Actually that was a very nice book and I ended up delving into a very specific genre that I had never explored before.

8.

**Swap books with a friend:** challenge a friend to pick a book from their bookshelf for you to read and do the same for them.

The only rule is picking a book that your friend hasn’t read before.

9.

**Pick award winning books:** instead of having to find ways to chose the books you’re going to read next, just commit to reading the books or authors who won prizes.

There are many to choose from, including the Pulitzer, the Hugo and the Nobel but you can choose other prizes, like the Goodreads yearly choice awards.

10.

**Consider reading as a full-fledged hobby:** formalizing my habit of reading was the main reason why I became so incredibly consistent with the habit recently.

I did small things that (despite seeming meaningless) changes my mindset towards this habit.

First of all, I got a lot more involved in the community, participating in forums, searching for recommendations and learning more about new trends.

The other thing I did was spending the time to list all the books I remember I ever read in my Goodreads account, create a reading challenge for myself and started doing regular updates on my reading progress, and I try to commit to write reviews, although a lot of them haven’t been made public yet.

These small actions create a routine that allows me to feel accountable for the habit and to keep exploring new things about books and new authors.