I get a lot of questions about how I read so many books—specifically, I get asked about my daily reading schedule. With a full-time job and three young kids, how do I work in enough actual minutes and hours to read 100+ books per year? (Without leaving my wife and kids hanging.)
I think an important part of reading more books is also categorizing your reading. My reading falls into three: I read something from a writer (fiction, drama, poetry), scholar (history, philosophy, reference), and teacher (essays, memoirs, scriptures). So I can be reading 3-9 books at any one time. My mind tends to drift after 10-15 pages of reading any single book, so I like to pivot to different material that sometimes requires more careful reading to something that is lighter.
Also, don't discount audiobooks! It's a great way to "read" in a different way. I listen to Great Courses and fiction around the house while I'm doing things. I'd argue it's the ONLY way to read fiction. There's nothing like someone telling a good story!
Jeremy - thanks for the tips. I'm curious if you focus on one book at a time or go to a few each day as is my habit. It's common to find myself engaging 3-4 books throughout my reading week.
I'm an early riser and without fail, I get in twenty pages first thing in the morning (thank you, James Clear). I generally read about six books at a time. I usually pick out the biggest non-fiction book for the morning (think the Caro LBJ books) and the smallest fiction book I'm reading. I may only get in 6-7 pages of the non-fiction and then make up for it with the fiction.
I try to read an even number of fiction and non-fiction. My goal last year was 65 books or 20,000 pages. I hit over 20,000 pages with 63 books.
I usually get in another ten minutes of reading while I'm waiting for my wife to get ready for work and another ten minutes when I return from lunch. 15-20 minutes after dinner before I go up to my home office to write. A minimum of thirty minutes at bedtime. 50-75 pages a day, closer to 100 on the weekends. Day after day, month after month. I'm seventy-one. I know I might only have another 600-700 books left to read (or, if you're a stoic, maybe 0). When I retire, I'll always have a book in my hand.
I think an important part of reading more books is also categorizing your reading. My reading falls into three: I read something from a writer (fiction, drama, poetry), scholar (history, philosophy, reference), and teacher (essays, memoirs, scriptures). So I can be reading 3-9 books at any one time. My mind tends to drift after 10-15 pages of reading any single book, so I like to pivot to different material that sometimes requires more careful reading to something that is lighter.
Also, don't discount audiobooks! It's a great way to "read" in a different way. I listen to Great Courses and fiction around the house while I'm doing things. I'd argue it's the ONLY way to read fiction. There's nothing like someone telling a good story!
Jeremy - thanks for the tips. I'm curious if you focus on one book at a time or go to a few each day as is my habit. It's common to find myself engaging 3-4 books throughout my reading week.
“But if you have a feeling like you’d rather watch a little less TV and read just a little more…”
This is me in 2022! Thanks, would be cool to go from 50/year to 75 or even a hundred if I watched less TV.
I'm an early riser and without fail, I get in twenty pages first thing in the morning (thank you, James Clear). I generally read about six books at a time. I usually pick out the biggest non-fiction book for the morning (think the Caro LBJ books) and the smallest fiction book I'm reading. I may only get in 6-7 pages of the non-fiction and then make up for it with the fiction.
I try to read an even number of fiction and non-fiction. My goal last year was 65 books or 20,000 pages. I hit over 20,000 pages with 63 books.
I usually get in another ten minutes of reading while I'm waiting for my wife to get ready for work and another ten minutes when I return from lunch. 15-20 minutes after dinner before I go up to my home office to write. A minimum of thirty minutes at bedtime. 50-75 pages a day, closer to 100 on the weekends. Day after day, month after month. I'm seventy-one. I know I might only have another 600-700 books left to read (or, if you're a stoic, maybe 0). When I retire, I'll always have a book in my hand.