How To Read More Books & Overcome Reading Slump (10 Tips)

Hi everyone! Today's video is one of the most requested videos on my channel. It will be 10 tips on how to read more books and also how to overcome your reading slump. I am far from being the fastest reader or the reader who reads the most. I know with absolute certainty many readers and booktubers that read much more and faster than I do. But I've been consistently reading and reviewing at least 100 books, not counting manga, from 2017-2021. And I hope the tips I share today will be beneficial to you. However, please remember that reading is not a competition. At the end of the day, as long as you're reading at your own pace and you are having a great time, that's what matters most. Enjoy!

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:22 Reading Schedule
4:09 Steal Read
4:43 Put your phone away
6:27 Use Kindle/Audiobook as well
7:57 Drink coffee or black tea
8:34 Read in a sitting position
9:37 DNF Books
12:07 Take a break
13:05 Read smaller books or books in other genres
14:18 Reread your favorite books
15:46 Closing

Music:
Spenta Mainyu - Jesse Gallagher
Stinson - Reed Mathis

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[speaking_bookish]

As far as audiobook speed goes- it’s a weird phenomenon because as you’re listening you can slowly increase the speed until you have it at 2-3x and for some reason it will sounds completely normal. I still prefer about 1.8x depending on how fast the narrator reads but sometimes I go up or down. Still, when my kids here the narrator when it’s 2x speed they laugh because it sounds funny yet to me it sounds completely normal 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Uppernorwood]

‘Put your phone down’ is just good advice on general tbh!

[mikesbookreviews]

Great tips! When people ask me how I read so much the answer is simple; reduce the time spent watching TV and scrolling social media apps. You'll be blown away with how much more free time you have.

[kavyapandey]

You don't know how much I needed this, Petrik! I think i'm in the biggest reading slump since I ever started reading.
Thanks for the great tips. Keep up the good work!

[mediabunny]

I love my Kindle! I also read about 100+ books a year, but that's just how l relax. I'm not sure why people set targets and such...? I just read or not, depending on how l am feeling. I guess l often feel like reading and have the time to do so 😀
However, l can't imagine sitting down to write reviews for every book - that's discipline! I do leave reviews on Amazon sometimes, especially for lesser known or indie authors for books that l liked, but certainly not for every book l read.
Ironically l think I've been reading less recently as I've been watching more BookTube and other videos 🤣 I've turned on the app notification to tell me when I've watched for an hour... Anyway, l do reread a lot so I'm happy to see you mention that. And l also read before l go to sleep, it helps me settle down. Happy reading and video making!

(P.S. I love how-to videos - this was good one!)

[Alkemisti]

I love speed-reading. It is the most important skill I have ever acquired.

When I was a teenager, my ADD began to turn worse, and slowly, during the following years, I lost my ability to concentrate on anything. I could stare at the page for an hour, read the same paragraph again and again, and after that I remembered nothing. It could take hours to read ten pages, and every line was a chore. I basically stopped reading fiction entirely after I DNF'd _The Eye of the World_ when I had spent months reading it and we were still in Emondsfield. I did not remember what had happened so far.

I still read nonfiction but just by skimming and browsing and reading a paragraph or two if I saw something especially interesting. Enjoying reading became impossible; this harmed my studies, harmed my identity as a book-reader, and I became miserable and depressed. I spent a year (2013) by reading just one book, _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova (that I read again later in just a few days), and I DNF'd another one, _The Prague Cemetary_ by Umberto Eco (currently one of my favourite books).

Then I watched a YouTube video titled *_READ A BOOK IN A DAY (how to speed-read and remember it all)_** by Nelson Dellis* (I would link, but YouTube usually does not let through my comments with links), and after that I have refound the joy of reading. Speed-reading is mindful and immersive, getting past the text into the story, and practicing it has helped me to concentrate on other things too. I read _The Eye of the World_ in three or four weeks (and I remind you that in Finnish it's twice as long as in English).

After I learnt speed-reading, I have read probably more books than ever before that, and reading is my favourite activity. I read at least three hours every day, and the thought storm in my head has actually turned into something creative and productive. Now I have finished writing a novel, and just some time ago I finished a PhD thesis paper. None of that would have ever happened without speed-reading.

My apologies. This comment became unnecessarily long, and I might sound like a cult recruiter.

[jamienleger]

When I first started listening to audiobooks, it helped to follow along in the physical copy while I was getting used to the narrator's voice. Also, it was easier for me to focus if I had something to do with my hands (like a puzzle, something crafty, or chores). I also agree with the other comments - the longer you listen to the same narrator, you can slowly crank up the speed until you find the sweet spot for their voice.

[louloubellex]

Audiobooks are a godsend to me even more so now I have a newborn! I do feel sad I can’t read as much as before, but hopefully when he’s older we can buddy read together 😅

[stephenlogsdon]

Sleep. Regular scheduled, uninterrupted sleep is wondrous for both my reading, and especially my writing. Now on my fourth book, I’ve finally managed to put down a 450 page, first draft in only 6 months, and I still fit in 10 to 20 pages, sometimes 50, of reading a day. And my day job allows me to listen to audiobooks, where I recently finished WOT (reread), and finally started Malazan. Book 3 is a blast, but it took slogging through the first 2 to get here.

[PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

Excellent tips here, my friend! I will never read as many books as you do, but I agree completely with you about the importance of treasuring your reading enough to prioritize it as an important part of your life, which means organizing reading into your life. Also, I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do indulge in tea. 😁Thanks for the video, Petrik!

[marlenekayenright]

Coffee and exercise (running a mile a day) makes me more focused!!

[mimimayhem]

I'm sure this is very helpful advice. I particularly like the last one to get over a slump: reread books you love. I want to read more, too! I wish as much as you do, Petrik, but I'm not sure I can 😅

[Red_Crows]

Audio books while commuting works wonderfully

[devlyn]

Excellent tips! I think having several books I'm reading at any one time across various mediums probably contributes a lot to how much I read. It means I don't have to stop reading when it's time to take the dog out or drive somewhere or even just do dishes/laundry/whatever, I just switch over to the book I'm listening to on audiobook for our walk. Waiting at the pharmacy and didn't bring my book or headphones? It's fine, I'm also reading something on my phone's kindle app.

[krispy.reading]

Sidenote: omg look at all your Patreons (Patrons?) now! Congrats!

[suzannemoore]

These are some great tips! I think the one that is hardest, for me personally, is dnf-ing. But, I want to do better about it in 2023.

[bluovalgal]

Great tips, Petrik, and I agree with all of them! I had to laugh when I read that one of the tips is to drink coffee or black tea. :)

[critiquegeek]

Audio books at 4x speed?? That is superhuman!

[IbbyMelbourne]

The problem with me, is that I love books, comics/manga, movies, tv, video games... I love all of these artforms so much, and I have this need to keep up with the current stuff coming out.
I'll spend a week really getting into a book, only to spend the next week catching up on TV, and then spend the week after that playing video games, etc. I have no consistency, lol.

What's really helped me are audiobooks, because I can listen in the shower or while driving to work. And I also just got a Kindle, which helps me to always be reading.

[rumpelRAINS]

Go petrik. Great video. I reading that don’t have to do with how to increase reading speed.