“I want to read more this year” is a common New Year’s resolution, for good reason: Reading, especially fiction, provides steady, reliable escapism ― and a lot of us are looking for just that right now, given the state of the world. Plus, it’s great for your mental and physical health.
One 2016 study, led by researchers from Yale University School of Public Health, found that adults who reported reading books for more than 3½ hours per week were 23% less likely to die within the 12 years of follow-up, compared with those who did not read books.
Another study ― this one put out in 2009 by the University of Sussex ― found that reading as little as six minutes at a time can be enough to reduce stress levels by more than two-thirds.
Want to get in on that action? I, along with some BookTokers I spoke to, come bearing tips on how to read more. (My credentials? I’m a fairly avid reader, clocking in 51 books this year and 60 last year. That’s not 365-books-a-year numbers ― how did that BuzzFeed reporter do all that? ― but it’s not bad, either! The BookTokers’ credentials? The thousands of people who follow them on TikTok for recommendations.)
You don’t have to read 100 pages a day. Start small.
Reading isn’t a competition, even if the Pizza Hut Book It! Program had you believing that. Any real book lover will tell you it’s more about what you absorb and take away from each book than how many titles you can cram into a year.
If you can find even five minutes in your schedule to read, it’ll help you start building a habit, said Cait Jacobs, a BookToker who read 107 books this year. Eventually the pages you read will add up, and you won’t even think twice about knocking out two chapters in one sitting.
“For me, even when I don’t feel like reading or don’t have much time for it, I always try to find even a few minutes in my schedule for a book,” she told HuffPost. “I also always have a book with me, whether a physical book or an e-book on my phone, so if I happen to stumble upon some free time when I’m out, I can take advantage of it!”
Download the Libby app and check out e-books from your local library.
If you have a Kindle or another e-reader, the number one tip I can give you is to utilize your local libraries’ digital book selections. I read exponentially more since doing that, and others I spoke to said the same thing.
If your library is signed up with the platforms Libby or Hoopla, you can browse, borrow and request books directly through those. You might have to wait for some popular titles ― when you go to check out a book, you’ll see how many digital copies are available and your place in line ― but, hey, it’s free.
Some libraries, including the Los Angeles County Public Library, where I check out books, have a “new and now” section on the app, featuring in-demand titles you can check out immediately for a shortened loan time (seven days versus the standard 30).
Read books that are similar in nature to the movies or TV shows you like.
You know what you like in TV series, so mirror that in your book selections, said Casey R. Kelley, a BookToker from Jacksonville, Florida, who’s read 280 books this year.
“For instance, if you like shows like ‘The Equalizer,’ you will love crime fiction like the Ashe Cayne series by Ian K. Smith,” she said. “If you liked movies like ‘Hidden Figures’ that reflect the history of real people, you will love books like ‘Harlem Rhapsody’ by Victoria Christopher Murray or ‘The American Queen’ by Vanessa Miller.”
Audiobooks absolutely count as reading.
There are some snobs who consider listening to audiobooks as a subpar reading experience, but pay them no mind. A book is a book.
“Audiobooks are one favorite format to enjoy books on because not only are they entertaining, they’re perfect for people who have a busy schedule with limited time to sit and physically hold a book,” said Kendall Ferrari, a BookToker from Southern California who’s read 60 books this year so far.
“It’s been a game changer for me, and I always have one playing while I drive, cook or do chores,” she said.
Read what you find interesting and appealing, not what a celebrity’s book club is recommending.
No offense to Oprah Winfrey or Reese Witherspoon ― both of whom have popular book clubs ― but unless you’ve dependably found books you’re into via a recommender, you’re probably better off following your own nose rather than chasing what’s popular. Nathan Shuherk, a BookToker and the author of Schizophrenic Reads on Substack, agrees.
“We’re inundated with people talking about ‘must reads’ or ‘best of the year’ lists, but if you’re trying to get started in a new hobby, you need to make it personal to make it sustainable,” he said. “Eventually you’ll expand your taste and selection as you fall more in love with reading.”
Join an unconventional book club.
You no doubt know about standard book clubs, with assigned reading and obligatory chitchat. But what about book clubs for the less social among us who still want to socialize, just a little? Enter Silent Book Clubs. In local chapters throughout the country, Silent Book Club members gather in bars, cafés, bookstores, libraries and online to “read together in quiet camaraderie.” Sounds like an introvert’s dream.
Become book buddies with a friend.
Find even a Silent Book Club a little too much of a commitment or social task for your taste? Make a pact with a good friend to read a book together. That way you’ll have something to discuss on Friday at dinner besides the new “White Lotus” trailer or your friend Ethan’s trip to Turkey for a hair transplant, scintillating as all that sounds.
Skip your regularly scheduled TV or internet browsing for a book.
Smitty, aBookToker who read 48 books this year (it would have been more, but he read quite a few fantasy books that clocked in at 600 to 1,300 pages), tries to prioritize reading over other forms of media.
“It’s very easy to get sucked into episode after episode of a TV show, but I usually go for reading over watching TV or video games,” he said. “At first it was something to get used to, but once you get deep into a book that has you hooked, it’s very easy to forget about the TV screen.”
Find your niche and follow book influencers who are into the same genres.
BookTalk is one of the most vocal and thriving communities on TikTok for a reason: It’s a fantastic place to find truly original book recommendations ― ones that feel tailored to your taste. Once you know what genres or authors you’re into, search those terms or names to find BookTokers who have similar taste.
“There is a book influencer for every genre or targeted demographic to help you find something to read,” Kelley said. “If you like thrillers, you should be following @adoseof.books. If you like speculative fiction, you should be following @theblerdlibrary.”
Really get to know one author by reading their entire oeuvre.
This year, I dug in deep into the catalog of Larry McMurtry, a novelist who is most known for “Lonesome Dove.” After reading and loving “The Last Picture Show,” I got into his six-part “Houston” series. By the end of it, I felt like I knew the characters personally (some to an aggravating degree ― get your life together, Danny Deck!) and, in a very different way, the author.
Create a visual reminder of all the books you’ve read.
Anthony “Da Kidd P.G.” Bagley is the founder of Black Kidds Read Too, a book platform that advocates for people to read from a diverse range of book genres and authors. A physical book reader, he gets hyped about reading by looking at all the books he’s already finished.
“Stack all the books you’ve finished in a spot you see every day,” he said. “Seeing the growing stack is a great motivator ― you’ll want to keep adding to it!” (If you’re an e-book reader, you can catalog and look at what you’ve read by creating a GoodReads or The StoryGraph account.)
Don’t feel bad if you DNF a book.
BookToker Max Dunn estimates that he’s read about 115 books this year. That said, he’s also thrown in the towel on some books. (In online book communities, such books are labeled DNF: Did not finish.)
“I’m a big proponent of quitting books you aren’t enjoying or putting them down when you aren’t in the mood and trying them again at a later date,” said Dunn, who runs a book club on the Fable app called “The Well Done Books Club.”
“So many people, myself included, push themselves to finish every book they start even if it becomes a chore,” he said. “But reading as a hobby should be something you want to do and enjoy, not something you feel obligated to do.”