When did you last read a book for pleasure?
If you don’t remember, you’re not alone. Research from the US suggests that the amount of time that the average American spends reading has been consistently dropping over time, statistics that are consistent with data in other parts of the world as well.
Since the dawn of television, reading’s place at the centre of leisure time has been eroded. Now in the digital era, time in front of our phones endlessly scrolling has made that displacement even more pronounced.
But it’s not all bad news for books. A recent article from CBC suggests that young parents looking to reclaim their leisure time with reading are driving a surge in book sales:
“Whether it’s emerging from the trenches of raising young children, wanting to disconnect from screens and devices, or just taking a stand that, in 2023, they deserve an escape, parents are allowing themselves to get lost in stories.”
Natalie Stechyson, “A lot of new moms stop reading. But they’re coming back — and might be driving book sales” (CBC)
Whether you’re a die-hard reader or not, reading can be a worthwhile way to spend some of your scarce leisure time. It offers a number of benefits for mind, body, and soul, like the following:
- It makes you smarter. We know that – for kids – early reading is correlated with academic success and higher intelligence later in life. But there’s also evidence to suggest that regular reading can increase your brain power and intelligence as an adult too.
- It can improve your memory. Research suggests that regular reading provides your brain with a good workout, increasing memory recall over time. Some research suggests that the kind of brain exercise offered through regular reading can also act as a defense against conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
- It can make you more empathetic. Books – particularly fiction books – can help teach us empathy. By acquainting us with people different from us through their characters, books can help us understand what’s going on in other people’s heads and make it easier to appreciate other perspectives.
- It can reduce stress. Some evidence suggests that reading can reduce stress by as much as 68%, which is nothing to sneeze at. Losing yourself in a good book can help you avoid ruminating over everyday stressors, lowering your heart rate and promoting relaxation.
- It can help you sleep better. Reading a physical book before bed can give your eyes valuable time away from the blue light of a screen, fostering a better sleep environment to help set you up for better sleep.
- It’s infectious. Reading aloud to children and family members can help nurture closeness and bonding, but it’s also a good way to foster a love of reading in children. Children who are read to are more likely to develop and maintain a love of reading later in life.
- It can provide reassurance. Reading about someone else’s experiences, challenges, and adversity can normalize the ones that you face in a really powerful way. I still remember reading (and re-reading) Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret over and over as a pre-teen when I was in the throes of a very confusing and opaque puberty. Knowing that Margaret and I were going through the process together was incredibly reassuring.
So…assuming I’ve convinced you of the merits of reading more, how can you do it?
Angela Haupt offers several key tips that might just help you read more in her excellent article in Time (“8 Ways to Read More Books—And Why You Should”).
- Start small
Haupt reminds us that tackling War and Peace when you haven’t picked up a book in recent memory can be daunting, so don’t be afraid to look for a slim volume, a quick beach read, a volume of poetry, or a set of short stories to help get you back into the reading game.
- Track your reading
Haupt tracks every book she reads and says that while it’s an effective way of measuring your reading progress over the course of time, it can also provide you with an important source of data, helping you zone in on what kinds of books you liked, which ones you didn’t, and flagging which works or authors you might want to return to again.
- Join a reading challenge
Reading challenges function a bit like training for a long-distance race – it helps you make a commitment against which you can make steady and measured progress over time. As Haupt notes, reading challenges can be semi-prescriptive (i.e., read an anthology, read a book set in the 1700s, etc.), which can help to venture outside of your comfort zone, giving you inspiration to try something you wouldn’t normally gravitate toward.
- Set a daily goal
Haupt notes that setting a daily benchmark for your reading time – even as little as 15 minutes – can help you build a reading habit. It’s the same logic as committing yourself to a short workout; once you’re moving or engaged in the process, you’re more likely to exceed your target and start to enjoy the process.
- Try different formats
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different reading formats. If you’re a steadfast reader of physical books, try an e-book or an audiobook. Each format offers its own set of benefits and can change the reading experience in unique and different ways.
- Read multiple books at once
Haupt suggests that having a few different books on the go at once can help to keep your interests sustained. We’re not always in the mood for a particular type of read, so having multiple books to choose from when you sit down to read can help you maintain motivation and interest while keeping your commitment to your reading time.
- Find a reading community
In Haupt’s article she talks about finding community either online or in-person, which can be a great way to engage in literature in a deeper way while forging connections with like-minded readers. She recommends places like #Bookstagram on Instagram, Goodreads, or your local library as great places to start, or becoming a member of a book club.
- Adopt a quitter’s mentality
Many of us feel compelled to finish something that we’ve started, but Haupt points out that there is merit in “quitting” a book you’re finding it hard to slog through. By permitting yourself to bow out before the end, you’ll conserve your valuable reading time for stuff you actually enjoy.
…and I thought I’d add a few of my own ideas on things you can do to read more to complement Haupt’s recommendations above:
- Download reading apps
Apps like Libby, Hoopla, and Overdrive link to your library card, and allow you to download e-books and audiobooks for free. This can be a great way to explore lots of content without having to shell out big bucks at the bookstore.
- Look at bestseller/curated lists
I’m a fan of checking out Heather’s picks at Chapters, or consulting lists like the New York Times Bestseller List to see what’s new and interesting that might be worth checking out. Just like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine develops an appreciation for video store staffer Vincent’s picks (until she doesn’t and goes with a Gene pick, which sours Vincent on their affair), find a list or source of recommendations that you find simpatico with your own tastes, which can open up a wellspring of new reads.
- Talk to like-minded readers
Further to Haupt’s point above about finding a community, once you’ve established a network of like-minded people that enjoy similar types of books, tap into that network for recommendations. I tend to enjoy the same kinds of books as my sister, so she’s an endless source of new and interesting stuff for me to read (and occasionally lends me her copies to boot!).
- Explore different genres or themes
If you continually gravitate to the same kind of content, it’s worth checking out something totally different from time to time – maybe a work of historical fiction, or sci-fi, or poetry. With an open mind, you may just find that you discover an appreciation of a whole new and previously untapped literary realm you can explore.
- Thrift for new reads
Thrift shops and used bookstores can be a treasure trove of interesting and eclectic reads, and since they generally offer books at a bargain price, the cost of trying something a little off your beaten path is less than if you were to buy new, making it more likely that you might experiment more with a thrifted book. Plus by giving a used book a new lease on life, you’re keeping it out of a landfill.
References:
Caleb Crain, “Why We Don’t Read, Revisited” (New Yorker) – https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/why-we-dont-read-revisited
Abigail Wise, “8 Science-Backed Benefits of Reading a (Real) Book” (Real Simple) – https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/benefits-of-reading-real-books
Angela Haupt, “8 Ways to Read More Books—And Why You Should” (Time) – https://time.com/6251239/how-to-read-more/
Natalie Stechyson, “A lot of new moms stop reading. But they’re coming back — and might be driving book sales” (CBC) – https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/moms-reading-books-sales-1.6751905
