Reading 52 Books in a Year

It’s been a goal of mine for a couple years now to read 52 books in a year. Yes, that’s an average of a book a week. In 2018, I got close - I read 50 books. But in 2019, I read only 18. I attribute much of that 2019 number to the fact that my life felt like an out of control dumpster fire for most of the year and reading wasn’t a good enough escape (this may explain how I got into anime in 2019), so my reading habit really took a hit. 

But towards the end of 2019, I started thinking that I’d like to give it a better shot again in 2020. 

The problem was - I didn’t really feel like reading. I was now addicted to reading quick snippets and articles on my phone, smashing through different TV shows, and watching movies. Sitting down to read only sounded enjoyable in theory. 

Maybe this is something that a lot of people experience but for me it was troubling. I had been a voracious reader ever since I was young so the fact that I had gone through a long period of such low reading volume was definitely atypical. 

So how to get back into it?

Start a new book. I had fallen off the reading wagon mid-book. That book would have normally been a brisk read for me but since I wasn’t feeling reading - it turned into a slog. I wasn’t motivated by that particular story. So if I’m looking to restart my habit I look for a book I’m excited about. Maybe something popped up on amazon, or I got a rec from a friend. The prospect of starting something new is always exciting. 

Pick something FUN. The books that are the most fun for me to read are usually YA fiction books. Yes, it’s a little embarrassing but YA is written to keep TEENAGERS engaged so to say that they are page turners would be an understatement. Luckily I had a rec in this genre from a friend on the backburner so I knew exactly what to get. The thing to note here is that you almost want to pick something almost easy that will keep your interest. For me - that’s YA Fantasy.

Habit. Reading is a habit like anything else. So like anything else, it’ll take a little bit of time to take. This is why the second point is so important. If I pick something fun, I'll WANT to read because I'll WANT to know what’s next. Another reason YA fantasy works for this purpose? It almost always comes in series format. Which means I already have a built in mechanism to keep my attention. 

Reading is an activity that can sometimes feels out of reach because there is a certain elitism that pervades around the literary canon. People wills say if you haven’t read certain things then you don’t really read and so on. But if you read at all, you’re a reader. And although many books have stood the test of time or offer truly great examples of writing/literature, reading any book can improve your vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and empathy skills. Yes, even YA can help with those, and as a result, there’s really nothing to lose. So far I’ve read five books this year which means I am on track! Wish me luck!

Stumbled upon this gem of a bookstore in Portugal