While most bookworms get a pretty bad rep, especially during teenage years, it’s a well-known fact that later in life many bullies end up wishing they would have been more like those they once made fun of.
There are many aspects to being a bookworm and the benefits associated with healthy reading habits play a big role in the reasoning behind the growing number of people who are trying to find out how to become a bookworm.
What is a bookworm person?
A bookworm is defined as a person who is dedicated to reading and studying to an extent that puts them above their age group’s average level of involvement in these activities.
Someone might be referred to as a bookworm for example, if they would rather spend a Friday evening reading at home than go to a party with their friends. The term also implies a certain separation from reality in some cases. True bookworms are sometimes more involved in the fantasy worlds they read about than their own lives.
Another characteristic that is commonly associated with bookworms is their lack of interest in human interactions or a certain level of inability to relate, interact and communicate effectively with their peers.
While there are certain downsides associated with being a bookworm, there are also many reasons why being one is a good idea, and the positives certainly outweigh the negatives.
How to become a bookworm?
For those of you who are aware of the benefits of being a bookworm and want to embrace this side of your personality, the transition might turn out to be rather confusing without some guidance.
Learn about the benefits of reading and get motivated
The first step in becoming a bookworm is finding your motivation. Why do you want to be a bookworm?
Well, for most people, the reason behind their desire to become a bookworm has a lot to do with the benefits of reading a lot. It’s a well known and documented fact that reading has tons of benefits for your body and mind.
If you want to become a bookworm, it’s important to know why you’re doing it. So you should do some research about the ways reading will improve your life. That should get you motivated to start your journey to becoming a true bookworm.
Find the books/genre that gets you excited about reading
Now that you know what your motivation is and why you want to become a bookworm, let’s start looking a bit at how you should get started.
It’s important to realize from the start that in order to be successful, you need to find ways to enjoy reading. That is why the first order of business should be finding a genre or an author you like. Try a couple of books that are popular and that have great reviews from other readers.
Don’t limit yourself to a title or author though. Try new things all the time and never be afraid to abandon a book that doesn’t get you excited. Try different genres like fantasy, mystery, thrillers. These are usually the ones that are the hardest to stop reading.
Reading should be a recreational, relaxing, and fun activity, always remember that. If you’re not enjoying it, you’re doing something wrong.
Be organized
Like with pretty much anything else in life, being organized when it comes to reading is quite important. That means setting yourself a schedule, creating lists of books you want to read, and sticking to your plans and goals.
Any self-respecting bookworm understands that we live in technologized times and modern problems need to be solved using modern solutions. Accepting the fact that you need help with your reading habits in this day and age when we live surrounded by thousands of distractions is an important step on your journey towards becoming a true bookworm.
Using a reading tracker app is your quickest way of improving your reading habits. Let’s take Basmo for example, an amazingly friendly and efficient reading app that works on pretty much any mobile device running on Android or iOS you can think of.
Apps like Basmo have a huge number of benefits for the modern reader. Basmo can help you tremendously in your journey towards better organized reading, taking notes while reading and even saving and sharing your favorite quotes from books (for example, your favorite quotes about reading books).
Schedule your reading sessions
Since most bookworms are dreamers, we know that scheduling and being organized isn’t really your thing. Having a chaotic reading schedule may work for some, but we all know that having a clear structure in any activity brings better results. Luckily, there are things you can do to change that.
How can Basmo help?
Among other things, Basmo allows you to set yourself a reading schedule. You can easily select the days you want to read in and even different times in each day when you want to schedule your sessions. Not only that, but you will also receive notifications on your device to ensure that you never forget about and skip a reading session.
Setting reading goals
While a common goal for most of us is to simply read more, a healthier and more effective approach to improving our reading habits is to set clear goals.
How can Basmo help?
Basmo gives you the option to set goals for yourself. You can choose daily reading goals for the time you spend reading every day or yearly goals for the number of books you read throughout the year. Not only that, but Basmo will allow you to track your progress towards your goals through comprehensible statistics and animations.
Create reading lists and stick to them
While most people spend quite a lot of time in between books, thinking of what they should read next, a true bookworm always has at least a couple of books lined up in a queue. That is why using reading lists is essential.
How can Basmo help?
Whenever you hear about a book that you think you might enjoy reading, use Basmo and add it to your to-read list. Basmo allows you to either use the predefined book collections and also to create your own personalized lists, which means you can even create the lists separated by genre for example.
Give Your Reading Experience
An Extra Boost With Basmo
Track the books you read, monitor the time you spend reading and keep notes on your reading habits and how it makes you feel. You can set yourself targets for the time you spend reading and you can get notified whenever you’re behind on your reading time.
Have a book nearby at all times
You never know when the mood strikes or when you have a couple of minutes for yourself. That is why it’s important to surround yourself with books. Keep a book in your bag and a book at work at all times.
Our lives are so hectic nowadays and we tend to have so little time that is unaccounted for. It would be a shame to find yourself in a situation where the reason you’re not reading is that you have nothing to read at hand.
Join a book club or online community for reading
Despite their reputation of being lone wolves, bookworms love surrounding themselves with people who share their interests. There are hundreds of online communities you can join if you want to meet other people who love reading. Obviously, those are great places to get book recommendations, advice on how to read better, and to get support whenever you feel your motivation is fading.
If online communities aren’t your thing, you can always join a classic book club with weekly or bi-weekly in-person meetings. Most of the time, these clubs have predefined reading lists for their members and all of them read the same books between meetings and discuss them when they meet.
Book clubs are great if you don’t want to worry about your next read but come with the downside of limiting your freedom both in terms of titles and in terms of the time you have to finish every book.
How many books does a bookworm read?
As much as I would like to give you an exact number, there are too many factors to take into consideration for a precise answer.
But following the logic of the bookworm definition which states that a bookworm is considered anyone who goes above the average when it comes to time spent reading and books read in a specific timeframe, we should be able to find an interesting answer.
Studies have concluded that the average American reads 12 books per year. By definition, a bookworm could be considered anyone who reads more than that. But it’s really not that easy.
There are other things at play and much more statistics about reading should be taken into consideration. Even though the definition places everyone who reads over 12 books per year in the “bookworm family”, where does that leave us compared with Bill Gates, who claims to read up to 50 books in a year?
What are the top ten signs that you are a bookworm
While there are many signs of having become a true bookworm, with all the associated problems, there are some that stand out from my point of view.
- While planning a night out with friends, you found yourself thinking “I’ll bring a book too, in case I get bored”.
- Your idea of an outdoor activity is reading in a park.
- You develop stronger feelings for the characters in the books you read than for the people around you.
- You can’t stop buying new books.
- You have book hangovers more often than you would like to admit.
- Your to-read list is intimidating, to say the least.
- Your librarian knows you by name.
- You check every friend’s book collection the second you get in their house.
- You read the book before seeing the movie.
- You often find yourself reading at 3 AM even though you have to go to work in the morning.
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Conclusion
Now that you know how to be a bookworm and the benefits of being one, we hope you have all the necessary data to make an informed decision about becoming one.
Remember, being a bookworm is not as easy as it first seems and you should take advantage of every kind of help you can get. Luckily, Basmo can make things a lot easier for you. Give it a shot and I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
