Reading might be on your to-do list. Maybe you used to be a voracious reader. But now, plagued with work and family alike, you likely have made the familiar excuses: “I’m not a reader,” or, “Reading is so boring,” or even better, “I just use Sparknotes instead of reading the actual book.” But don’t worry: It doesn’t have to be like this.
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The average American picks up their phone to look at it 96 times a day, according to Zippia. What are you doing when you pick up your phone? You’re taking in information — which, most of the time, means you’re probably reading.
Whether it be a text message, news that a player in your fantasy league is injured or an influencer’s blog about their trip to Italy, you’re taking in information through words on a screen.
So maybe the problem isn’t that you’re not a big reader; you just haven’t found your literature niche. Here are some tips to help with that.
1. Don’t worry, you have time
Beyond its statistics on how often we look at our phone, Zippia added, “We actually touch our phones up to 2,617 times per day and unlock our phones 150 times on average.”
If you have time for to unlock your phone over 100 times a day, try picking up a book instead.
Before bed, open up a book and put the phone away. Electronic devices release blue light that can trick the brain into thinking it’s daylight and can keep you awake, the Deseret News previously reported.
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Whereas “reading a book in bed before sleeping improves sleep quality, compared to not reading a book in bed,” according to a study published in the medical journal Trials.
The study adds that “reading in bed before sleep not only potentially improves overall sleep quality but also people in the reading group experienced fewer problems staying asleep.”
Giving yourself time to read will help you find what genres you like, making reading more of a hobby and less of a chore.
2. Join a book club
Book lover Lauren Yarro started her book club last January as a way to stay connected to her friends while sharing something they all enjoy.
The girls in her book club take turns each month on who hosts — whoever hosts gets to pick the book for that month.
“I missed reading and that’s a big part of why I started it,” Yarro told the Deseret News. “But then it ended up turning into something I really looked forward to every month. Our husbands know about it, our children know about it, which makes it so much easier to make it a lasting hobby for us.”
Yarro emphasized that because it’s set in her calendar every month, it helps hold her accountable to actually reading the book so that she can contribute to the discussion.
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3. Reading makes you smarter and healthier
Just like how your body needs exercise to stay fit and healthy, so does your brain. If you’re a gym rat, think of it this way: Reading acts like mental dumbbells. If the mind isn’t challenged, it can become stagnant. Either use it or risk losing it.
“Stanford University researchers found that study reading provokes multiple brain cognitive functions, while pleasure reading increases blood flow to different brain parts. It seems like a mix and match strategy can work here,” per Nerdish.
The article adds that “reading can prevent disease progression. Studies by Case Western Reserve University showed that activities such as reading could decrease the chances of Alzheimer’s disease by 2.5 times.”
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4. Explore your options
Think about your favorite kinds of movies. Are they historical romances, sci-fi war epics or biopics on your heroes? You’re in luck. They have those in book form, too. And there are social media platforms like Goodreads that make it easy for you to find the books you’re interested in.
Goodreads’ mission is to “help people find and share books they love. If you’re looking for a place to discover a great book or to discuss your favorite books with a community of readers, you’ve found the right place,” its website reads.
But this isn’t your only option. Lifewire shared a list of “communities made specifically for book lovers of any possible genre, whether to buy, browse, or talk about the books that have impacted your life.”
Here are five of those platforms:
- Literature Map.
- BookFinder.
- Five Books.
- Comic Book Resources.
- Indie Bound.
Reading enriches life in many tangible and intangible ways by promoting personal growth, understanding
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and enjoyment. So explore all the subgenres out there and find one that you love.
