As you well know, I’m an avid reader. Not only do I love to read, but I find that a steady diet of good books challenges my mind and inspires and motivates me as a person.
If you’re a full-time college student, a busy professional, and/or a mom of a few children, you might feel like there’s no time in your day to fit in more reading. Well, I disagree.
Head on over to The Better Mom where I’m sharing 15 of my favorite ways to find more time to read. Have any great ideas to add to my list? Leave them in the comments!
go to Friends of the Library sales and you can get books for $1.00 hard cover and usually .50 for paperbacks. Check the library when they will have their sales and some of the libraries have a shelf for selling all year long.
Thanks for the tip! -Jordan, MSM Team
I have learned to work reading into my daily schedule and I love it! My goal for this year is 1 book per month. I know it’s not close to yours….but it’s a start for me! HOWEVER, how do you afford to buy ALL these books? My list I compiled for this year (about 24 books as a just in case I can’t find certain ones)……my library only carries 3 of the books on my list! I can’t afford to go out and buy these books. What’s your suggestion?
You can buy used online or at a store that sells used books. 🙂 Maybe ask a friend if she has any books she enjoyed reading and would not mind loaning to you?
I read during my lunch break at work. Thanks for the great tips!
Also, check to make sure if your library and state have an interlibrary loan program. Our local library only had 3 or 4 of the books on my reading list, but I was able to request the others from any library in the state. These books are shipped to my local library and they notify me when they arrive.
I found the wonderful free internet audiobook resource at librivox.org. There are thousands of audiobooks recorded by volunteers. Generally these are old books that are in the public domain and are not copyrighted. Now I am listening to Paul Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” each evening while I am cooking dinner. I’ve also enjoyed several GA Henty books, especially “The Cat of Bubastes, a Tale of Ancient Egypt.” Check it out!
Our family has listened to several books through Librivox. We all enjoyed The Secret Garden, and the Anne of Green Gables Series. Right now we’re listening to The Wind in the Willows. Sometimes you definitely have to listen to the first few minutes to find a reader you enjoy listening to, but we’ve always been able to find one we like. The man that read The Wind in the Willows even does different voices for all of the character…the kids love that!
Instead of trying to read while running, I listen to audiobooks that I download from the library. That way I can listen whether I’m running on a treadmill, using a different machine or running outside. I have 2 mp3 players so I can have 2 entirely different books going to choose between. I also listen when working in the kitchen, cleaning the house, or any other task that I don’t enjoy but leaves my mind free.
The best thing I ever did to increase my reading time was to buy a Kindle. Since there are no pages to turn or to flop around, it’s much easier to prop up anywhere and everywhere. It’s much easier to carry around than hardcovers, too.
This is one of my favorite topics — finding time to read is close to the top of the list of things people wish they had more time for (exercise is the other — and pretty much all of us do have time for both!) I’ve found for me reading is about supply. If I have good books on hand, I’ll read them. If I don’t, I’ll use that same time puttering around the house, flipping through catalogs, etc. So now I go to the library at least once a week and pick up something totally random. Since it’s free (or at least included in the taxes I have to pay anyway) I can be daring. I’ve recently read books on baseball, urban planning, and birding, among other topics. If I know a good book is waiting, I’m inspired to pick it up after the kids go to bed and read for an hour.
Love this perspective! Thanks for chiming in, Laura!
I too read while I walk on my treadmill. The other day I ended up walking an extra half mile because I was a few pages from the end of the book 🙂
I also try to read before I turn out my light before bed.
I carry my kindle with me at all times so if I am waiting for my kids or an appointment I can get a few pages read. I also love that so many books are free!
Thanks for the suggestions. I have been praying about finding more time to read books- gardening, blogging, business, and earning money online. This article was timely for me.
My friend’s mother called it DEAR time — She would call out to all the children throughout the house that it was ‘time to be a dear’ — which meant
Drop
Everything
And
Read. (DEAR)
And they all had to do just that!
Like you, I seldom (rarely!) watch TV. In fact, a couple months ago, my husband hooked up a new remote for the TV and I don’t even know how to use it! But the kids do can do it.
I love reading books on my smart phone while nursing my newborn son. I’m not talented enough to feed him and flip a printed book’s pages yet so my phone works great one handed!
I do most of these tips already and also read several books a week. Need to try your tip of reading first thing in the morning, though. One tip I have is to give yourself permission to “quit” a book if needed. I give it a fair try, but have decided that life is too short to read something that isn’t worth my time. I’m not talking about books that are just challenging to read, but books that end up not really being relevant or are poorly written.
I love to read too! I often read while I eat breakfast because I’m the first one awake on weekdays.
I used your must read list along with several suggestions from fellow readers to make my list for 2013. I’m reading Simplicity Parenting right now and loving it!!! 🙂
I read that book and really loved it as well. I also went to a local spot to hear the author speak. I only wish I had read that book when y children were much younger!
I used to read while I used the breast pump at work. I’d also read on the bus. Now I’m a SAHM / WAHM. I hate to admit it but I read while I eat!! I also read while I hold the baby if I’m not giving her a bottle.
Crystal, you are so inspiring to me. I am hoping to meet my new goal of spending 1 hour each day reading for pleasure.
Read it this morning and loved it! One way I am making more time to read this year is switching out 1 hour spin classes for 1 hour work outs on the incumbent bike. This let me rest and recover from my run workouts done the day before (rest is something I am trying to get better at) and allows me to enjoy an hour of reading.
How innovative! Get your exercise in and reading too.