Becoming a Reader/Developing the Habit of Reading

I think the biggest thing is to pick a book that interests you and you can finish.
Don't try to read Homer or The Count of Monte Cristo and think you're going to stick to it. Could you? Sure. Will you? Probably not.

After that make it easy for you to read.
Don't watch TV or scroll TD after a certain time. Read instead.
Maybe you have time during the day where you could quickly pick up and knock out 5-10 pages. Do that.
If a Kindle makes that easier, get one.

I got back into reading because I realized I was staring at my phone way longer than I should before bed. I started reading a book on Kindle and was able to be ready to sleep way faster. This was my established reading time. If I'm very into a book, I'll read during free time throughout the day, but I always have my fallback of at least 10 minutes a day. I actually look forward to bed now.

Turn off electronics and read a dedicated time. Pick a day of the week or 30 mins before bed or whatever but get in the habit of getting away from electronics as much as possible

1) good book that interests you.
2) ritualize it at night or in the morning. Appreciate slowing down and unplugging. Making a tea or a cocktail with the reading time is good. Set a mood for reading. You can do it when laying in bed, but some people fall asleep really quickly from reading which can make it difficult to get into a book.
3) dedicate that time and just stick with it. Eventually the habit will grow as you enjoy it more.

quote:

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I’ve had a goal in the back of my brain for the last 10 years to try to read the entire Art of Manliness Top 100 Books list, so it feels like right now is as good as ever to go for it.

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Eh, while there are obviously some fantastic books on that list, I don't know if that's the best approach. It'd be different if you were an avid reader and not trying to pick back up reading.

The last thing you want to do when trying to get back reading is picking up a book that is a chore to read. Reading Moby Dick sounds good and all but a book like that is a pain to read and will more than likely make you stop reading more than it would make you start back up. My brother was trying to get back into reading and he was dead set on reading Dune. I told him not to because even though that's an all time great book, it's a bit of a pain to read. What do ya know, he didn't get halfway through and never picked it, or any other book back up.

Start with an easy to read book like To Kill a Mockingbird or The Jungle Book (a book I re-read almost every year). Or read a book that one of your all time favorite movies is based off of because it's a subject matter you can almost be certain of that you'll enjoy. I'd for starters stay with a book that is on the shorter side, something you know you'll finish. Finish it and it'll kind of build your confidence up that you can get back into consistent reading and then if you want to go for The Bible or The Count of Monte Cristo or some other long reads that are on that list, go for it.

I’ll add something I got from reading Alan Jacobs:

Don’t make a list.
Read on a whim.

The books you like will naturally lead to more books that you will like.

Don’t make a list.