It can be hard to prioritize reading as a grown up. Time is limited and priorities stack up. It can feel harder to pick up a book than to pick up your phone, and it can be easy to get sucked in to what someone else in your household has on the TV.
Here are some ways to keep you motivated and prioritize reading as a hobby:
Join a book club or buddy read
Sometimes prioritizing reading can be challenging because it is a solitary activity. If you already have limited social time, it might feel selfish to spend it on a book rather than with people. However, books can be an excellent way to connect! The accountability from a someone else might help you stay motivated to keep reading.
- Try reading the same book as your partner to have new topics to discuss over meals.
- Read aloud to your children every night.
- Create a book club with friends and set aside an evening for socializing together. Book clubs are a wonderful means to create new social connections. Create a book club with friends and set aside an evening for socializing together.
- Find or join an existing book club at Arapahoe Libraries, local bookstores and online.
Use a reading tracker
Sometimes, having a goal is all you need!
- Use an online tracker to read and tally the books you've read each year. Platforms like Goodreads, opens a new window and Storygraph, opens a new window are popular, free options that also let you track which books you want to read next.
- Your account on the Arapahoe Libraries website also allows you to keep track of your checked-out books, as well as rate and comment on them.
- If you're looking for a non-digital option, you can also use a good old-fashioned journal. There are guided reading journals available that offer prompts to encourage critical thinking about the books you're reading, or you could simply jot down a list in a notebook you have at home.
Create a reading checklist for yourself
You can personalize this however you like.
- Make a list of classics you've always wanted to read.
- Commit to finishing every series you've started but haven't completed.
- Challenge yourself to explore new genres or perspectives.
- For inspiration, one TikTok creator (@Courtneyhenningnovak, opens a new window) is reading a book by an author from every country in the world. How cool is that!
Read in ways that work for you
Read a physical book. Read a digital book. Read an audiobook or switch between all three.
- Listen while you’re in the car, throw your eReader in your bag and grab the hard cover when you’re on the couch.
- Switching it up can help you combine reading with other tasks. You can listen to a book while doing your chores and many people find eReaders easier to manage while on a treadmill than a floppy paperback.
- Different ways of consuming a book work best at different times. All are equally valid ways to read.
Read what you want to read
Most of us have memories of being forced to read a book we didn't enjoy in school. Reading can be a challenge, but it should be enjoyable too!
- Not every book is for everybody and that is okay.
- Don’t be afraid of not finishing a book and moving on to the next one. You can always come back to it at another time (or not!).
- If you need help finding a book that is a good fit for you, ask for suggestions from your local librarians.
Read about reading
If reading feels like a chore or you feel intimidated to pick up a challenging book, maybe you need to change your approach. There are fiction and non-fiction books that may help you look differently at your next read.
- If you want some tools to think more critically about your next read, you could pick up some literary theory.
- If you don’t want to commit to a full book on literary theory, try listening to or watching an interview from an author on your TBR (to be read) list. Sometimes that will add enough context to deepen your next reading experience.
- There are also so many fantastic fiction and nonfiction stories about books and writing to remind you why you love books!
This blog was written by Rachel, one of Arapahoe Libraries' Reference Librarians.
Add a comment to: Tips to Meet Your Reading Goals