How to Read More (How I Read 70+ Books a Year!)

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
1:35 - Train your attention span
2:57 - Read while waiting
3:21 - Get rid of distractions
4:37 - Have a reading outing
5:21 - White noise
6:01 - Read books you're excited about
8:11 - Reach for books you find easy to get through
9:33 - Find a reading buddy
10:09 - Track your reading
10:21 - Set goals & aim to read compactly
12:40 - Actively prioritize reading

MY SHORT FICTION:

OUTRO MUSIC: "l u v t e a [acoustic]" by Autumn Keys

SOCIAL

[gabrielmachadobsb]

Gosh, I needed this video. When I was a teenager I used to read over 100 books a year. Last year, I read 3.

[josephvlogsdon]

I’ve been trying to read more books this year than I have previously. Because I get so much joy out of writing, I often neglect my reading. With writing, I’m using the active part of my imagination, but with reading, it’s more passive. Sometimes, I’ll set a timer for one hour, during which I’ll try to read as much as I can. This has helped me quite a lot. I would also recommend starting out reading shorter books. After all, reading a 200 page book isn’t as intimidating as reading a 500 page book. In the time it takes to read one full-length book, you could read three or four novellas.

[justluc]

What you said about always having your phone on silent because you don't want to be contacted... I feel seen.

[Nate]

The main point is reading what you like - period, then one can cruise through many books. Such a good video yet again. Thank you

[miketkerrmusic]

This is my first year setting reading goals for myself, shooting for 50 pages a day and 50 books this year. It's changing my life and especially on the days when im able to, like you say, reach for a book instead of my phone I feel so much better about myself and the greater world. I read while cooking! I was very excited to hear you suggest that, the reading while waiting- because that is definitely time I'd just be staring at my phone. I feel like I have to read at least 50 books a year if I'm ever gonna read all the books I want to out there before I die.

[leech]

I love these rare morning upload times (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿). Adding on to your white noise advice: I also recommend finding an atmospheric ambience track on YouTube that is relevant to what you’re reading. For me it helps immerse. You can find tracks that have elements of the season or setting that match the book you’re reading. Especially works well for historical fic and fantasy. For me personally my problem is that I spent enough time on reading, I just read painfully slowly. I have a need to understand and absorb every sentence to its fullest extent (not saying fast readers aren’t doing this) and also I start tuning out and thinking about something related to my own life haha 😅

[nocturnus]

I’m fortunate I can balance Audiobooks Physical copies & eBooks. I was an early adopter of Podcasts so when I [finally] started trying audiobooks last year as lockdown started in the spring. I had 10 years of listener training I guess. The great use case for eBooks in my library has been color coded highlights & notes. Jessica Brody’s STCWAN and Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook have color coded notes for when in the writing process I expect to need a callback.

[crystalcoasting]

I love this video and I wanted to add my "tip" for anyone looking for more in the comments 😁 sometimes I reread old books I loved to keep up my reading habit when I'm not excited about anything new. It's like visiting old friends.

Side note, if you (Shaelin) do this it would be really cool to see a video about books that you would read over and over again.

[nocturnus]

White Noise IS AMAZING!! In the Google Assisiant I find playing the ambient sounds. Babbling Brooke, River, Ocean, Rain and or Thundershowers work especially well for me & my focus. I’m well into my 2nd decade of my Yoga & Meditation journey so have much respect for white noise. I am still discovering Apple Music, but Spa, Apple Lounge (rotating playlist), Downtempo & Chill are radio stations & playlists that sing to my focus.

[ktales]

Reading isn't really a priority for me right now (and, for me, reading more would consist of writing more). However, one remark stood out to me (two remarks -- the fact that you don't like being bothered by phone calls/texts is a kinship) -- namely, the idea that reading faster helps you enjoy things more. I find that same concept translates to my writing, since the faster I write, the more I enjoy writing. I'm not sure if that's a matter of relative ease or the all-around experience, but if it takes me longer than a month to write the first draft of a novel, my enthusiasm begins to wane. And the book that I probably had the most fun writing only took 19 days to write 88k words.

But at some point I'll likely need to read again, just to figure out things like comp titles and see what's happening in the various genres. Granted, I find reading something of a creativity-killer when it comes to sticking with writing because, while it might help give me ideas, I generally lose motivation when inside other peoples' worlds.

[ardin]

I agree so much about reading what you are actually interested in! I've read mostly ya for the last few years, ever since I was a preteen, and now I have grown out of the category but still feel dragged back to it because I'm so used to reading it.

[matthewroberts]

7:22 In school especially, you're forced to read books you have no interest in which causes so many people to think they hate reading.

Also I love listening to Lofi music when writing or reading. I get my music but don't have the voices distracting me

[artiesolomon]

Thank you so much for your great suggestions, especially the timer idea .

[bageba]

FINALLY, someone else who can't listen to audiobooks!

[ТаисияСулейманова]

White noise should work perfectly for me as I'm that type of person who loves reading in rain or in thunderstorm
Also, setting goals is something I've been trying to do more often recently
And yeah, definitely get rid of distractions, especially the phone. Thank you so much! Reading advices are my top interest lately :"з
Thanks^^

[angellover]

I feel like audiobooks work great if your doing something else. Like if you're going walking for an hour or cleaning. I also think it depends on the books you are listing to on audiobook. Like sci fi and fantasy might keep your attention better than poetry or some classic novels. The narrator can make the difference as well.

[Recombined]

4:13 I felt this on a spiritual level.

[rgulatr]

i can relate to so much in this video :) also i tried audiobooks several times but they dont work for me either. i stick to physical books and kindle

[Beastlango]

Audiobooks are amazing when you can listen to headphones at work.

[EarthenDemon]

I can barely manage 3 books a year. At my current rate, I'll only be able to read about 150 books between now and when I die (assuming I live a full life). This is a depressing thought; this doesn't seem like very many books.