7 Creative Ways To Read More!

Hi all!

As you probably know by now, I love to read, write and lose myself in a good book. Every single year I try to read as many books as possible but oftentimes, life gets in the way and I find myself doing everything else. This year, I have resolved to read every single day even if it is just one page on my lunch break. Today, I’m going to share with you all of the fun tips & tricks I’ve accumulated over the years to help make reading a part of my daily routine.

1.) Have 3 books on the go at all times! 

It may sound crazy but I am always reading three books at one time…in three different ways. A.) I always have my physical copy. At the moment, I am reading Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis by Anne Rice. This is quite a large paperback so I carry it with in me a tote bag and read it on my lunch break at work or whilst I’m eating. B.) I have my electronic novel on my Kindle App on Iphone. I read this in bed or if I have time to kill. Instead of scrolling through my phone, I read. It also helps that I don’t have a single social media app to distract me. At the moment, I am reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. Kindle is also great for travelling if you don’t wish to pack lots of heavy books that take up room in your suitcase. C.) I borrow free audio books on CD from my local library and listen to them every single time I drive – which is five days a week to and from work and on weekends. At this point in time, I am listening to Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. I don’t know what I was doing before audio books! They are truly the best. If you download the app Audible on your smart device, you can even listen to books whilst going for a walk or run. Audible are actually offering a free 30-day trial so you can listen to a couple of books for free and then decide to sign up permanently.

2.) Join a Book Club! 

Confession: I’ve never actually joined a book club before but I definitely will one day and they are the best ways to encourage more reading. Once a month, you meet with a group of people and discuss the same book you have all been assigned to read. Knowing that you only have a month to finish a book pushes you to devote quality time to reading that you don’t apply when reading casually. The same goes for borrowing library books. You can only renew them so many times. Deadlines may come with pressure but they are great motivators too! If you are quite introverted and don’t enjoy the social aspect of book-clubs, you can join many different groups online. Click here to see a wide variety of Goodreads Book-Clubs or search Facebook. You won’t have to meet anybody and can anonymously share your thoughts/reviews via computer.

3.) Sign up for a monthly book subscription service! 

There are so many wonderful bookish subscription boxes available for readers and each of them are completely unique from one another. Here are some of the best that I have seen my favourite Bloggers/You-Tubers advertise:

<3 Owl Crate <3 

With Owl Crate, you receive a brand new hardcover YA book every single month along with 3-5 bookish items. They could be figurines, bookmarks, candles, tote bags, tea etc. Every single month also encompasses a specific theme. Subscribe here!

<3 Once Upon A Book Club <3

This subscription service is incredibly unique and such a cool concept! Every month you are gifted with a book and several wrapped packages with page numbers on them. When you get to the page in the book that matches the corresponding number on the package, you open it and receive a gift that relates to that point in the story. This creates the ultimate immersive reading experience. You are also given a card full of questions on it with dates. When you reach that specific date, you are to answer the book-related question on their Instagram page and discuss it with the online book-club forum. It is such an exciting way to read and feel the story coming to life. Subscribe here!

<3 The Bookish Box <3 

The Bookish Box is a themed monthly subscription service that always comes with a book-related t-shirt. You also receive a smaller novel and more literature inspired memorabilia. Subscribe here!

With subscription boxes like these on offer, an avid book-lover can look forward to monthly surprise packages that inspire more reading. 

4.) Participate in Readathons! 

Readathons are a great way to pack in tons of reading and raise money for charities at the same time. I remember when I was in Primary School, I would take part in the yearly MS Readathon which would raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. You are given a form for people to sponsor you and donate to the cause as well as a space to write down every single book you read during the period of the Readathon. At the end, you hopefully have raised some money and read as many books as possible. Search online for upcoming Readathon’s and sign up! 

Also, on April 29th, I am going to undertake Dewey’s 24 hour Readathon which you can learn more about here. The concept is very simple: in 24 hours you need to read as much as possible. You can join the Goodreads or Facebook group for this and share your progress. I’m happy because this day is a Saturday which means I can devote the whole day to reading. I can’t wait to share my results on here!

5.) Undertake a Book Challenge! 

Here is a really unique Book Challenge you can undertake. Book Bingo! The rules are simple: 

• Every new season has a new bingo card. This one is for books read in the months of December, January, and February.
• The object is to get as many BINGOs as possible (five across, up and down, or diagonal)
• One square per book
• You do not have to review these books, or even have a blog, this is simply for books read during the allotted months

For more information click here!

I am planning to take part in this book challenge very soon: Tackle Your TBR Readathon. All I have to do for an entire month of my choice is: 

Read a book by a popular author you’ve never read before
Read a book that’s been on your TBR for over a year
Read the first or last book in a series
Read a book outside your comfort zone
 Read an underrated book
Read a hyped book
BONUS CHALLENGE
 Read 5 books

6.) Review Books On Social Media 

If you have a YouTube Channel, Instagram, Blog or Facebook Page, you can read and review books for people who are curious about certain novels but want to know if they are worth picking up. Book Depository have an Affiliates Program that allows you to earn money for every referral you make on your social media platform of choice. Click here to learn more. I’ve signed up for this but I also have my own little Book Review Journal which keeps track of every book I have read, a star rating out of 10, the genre, the title, the author, the review itself and a place to list my favourite quote/part. The blank pages in my journal are just begging to be filled up and that also makes me want to keep reading! 

7. ) Read In Sprints! 

Sprint reading is best for those that are constantly busy and have little time to prioritise reading. To sprint read, all you need to do is allocate yourself a time. For example: 20 minutes at 8:00pm to read as many pages as you can in that amount of time. This can take some practice. After a while, you’ll be able to absorb the words and meanings at an incredibly rapid speed and find yourself flying through chapters before the timer goes off! 

These are my 7 creative ways to read more. Please let me know down below if this was helpful or if I missed anything. I would love to know as many reading methods as possible. Once completed, I will post a blog following up my Tackle Your TBR Readathon to review how I went.  

Thank you so much for reading.

Peace & Love xoxo

Disclaimer: This post contains links to my Amazon Affiliate which helps fund my blog, I am not being paid or sponsored for this post/products – all my thoughts/opinions are my own