How I Went From Reading 20 Books Per Year to Over 75 Books

My Reading Tips

Five years ago, I was averaging 20-25 books per year, but since implementing these tips, I have been consistently reading 75 or more books per year, and I am not even a fast reader. I did not become an avid reader until I was an adult. Over the past decade, my love of reading has grown as my curiosity about the world has grown. Since 2021, I have been consistently reading 75-100 books annually and have become an avid reader. One of the most frequent questions I am asked is how I manage to read so much.

As a child, I remember loving our summer trips to the public library and going to the sports section to pick out books on sports and animals. We would come home, and I would read through the books and look forward to our next trip. I loved school, and reading was always encouraged in my public school. In college, I read most of the assigned reading for my classes, leaving little time for pleasure reading. I have developed a love for learning since I left college.

Those first years after college, I struggled with the lack of formal learning and quickly began looking into ways to continue my education. The problem was, I had a lot of student debt, and returning to school would not help that. But my itch to continue learning kept eating at me. I would find myself in bookstores on my days off with no plan and only occasionally purchasing books.

I realized there was an amazing power in being surrounded by knowledge in the form of books. My love of reading for learning was born as I began reading nonfiction books that would teach me how to make my way in the world. For several years, I would read somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 books per year but the more I learned, the more books I discovered and the more my TBR (to be read) list would grow. I began listening to anything I could get my hands on to help me read more so I could tackle my ever-growing TBR list.

I learned about morning routines, scheduled reading time, and how readers of many books would arrange their days to prioritize reading. I started to experiment with different reading plans and schedules. I get asked often how I can read so much and retain so much of what I read. Here are my strategies for reading 75-100 books per year and retaining more of what you read.

Quick caveat: everyone is in a different stage of life and the desire to read varies from person to person. My goal is to give you the tips that I have put into place and have helped me to read more. Also, not everyone wants to read 75-100 books per year but may just want to make reading a priority in their life. These tips are meant to be helpful for anyone wanting to increase their reading or get started on the habit of reading.

I have a full-time job and a family, so my reading time has to be prioritized. You cannot accidentally read a lot of books. It is a deliberate habit I have put into place and reading brings me joy. Since I have started writing, reading has become essential to my writing life. I do not spend much time scrolling on social media, don’t watch much television, and don’t work out as much as I probably should. Trading these things for reading is a priority that I have made in my life. I am also not a fast reader. I consider myself to read at an average rate. I do not speed read. I also have a loose (sometimes less loose) reading plan of books I want to read. Books are also my preferred learning style. I will occasionally watch YouTube videos or online courses, but I enjoy a more organized and written-out form of learning. I like to immerse myself in topics for a prolonged period and books are my preferred method for that practice.

Here are my top tips for reading:

· Take a book with you always

I carry a book with me everywhere. Those little 5-10 minutes add up and keep you from mindlessly scrolling. I have trained myself to reach for my book instead of my phone when I have a spare moment.

· Read physical books, listen to audiobooks, or read Kindle books

I am not biased towards the media for reading. I love audiobooks and listen to them frequently. I mostly read physical books as I like to write in my books and I read on my Kindle at times. The only caveat I have found is that I don’t retain books as much by audio as I do with visual forms of reading. I tend to listen to audiobooks that are for pleasure or but won’t do a deep dive.

· Sample and quit books

This one has been hard for me, but I quit books often. I love to sample books and try to give the book about 50 pages or so before I quit. Sometimes I will go back to a book and sometimes it is not the book for me. Quitting books helps keep you from getting stalled on a book that is not resonating with you and can slow your progress.

· Schedule reading time

This is one of my keys. I read every morning for at least 45 minutes. I prioritize and protect this time and wake up early to give myself time to read before the house comes alive. Honestly, this is my favorite time of the day. I try to read for at least 30 minutes in the evening and throughout the day as I get breaks.

· Weekend sprints

This is another key to finishing books. I try to set daily reading goals for myself, but I often finish books on the weekend by doing longer stretches of reading than the weekdays allow. It is not uncommon for me to read in hour-long stretches on weekends or to do several smaller stretches and get through entire sections or even whole books on the weekends. For example, I planned to read 40 pages of Jayber Crow on a Saturday recently, but managed to finish over 100 pages and finish the book.

These are the tips that I have found most helpful in my reading life and have helped me increase the number of books I read each year to 75-100. I don’t set number goals for books to read each year, instead, I pick books I want to read that year and make a list. I aim to read five books per month to feed my reading habit. A side benefit of reading more is a significant decrease in the time spent on social media.

What reading tips have you put into place to help build your reading habit?