While finding the joy in reading books is a given for many of us, others struggle to create healthy reading habits and figure out ways to enjoy reading. There are many things to consider if you are trying to understand how to enjoy reading books, but luckily for you, we have a couple of great solutions for you.
As we all know, reading has many benefits both for our physical and mental health and figuring out what to do in order to enjoy this activity will probably change your life for the better.
As a wise man once said, do what you love and you will never work a day in your life. It’s the same with reading, if you find the key to loving books, you will be able to enjoy the benefits without feeling like you’re making an effort.
Why is reading sometimes not an enjoyable experience?
The very first thing we need to understand in order to find out how to love reading books is to understand what makes the experience less enjoyable for some people. Finding a solution to a problem we don’t understand is like lighting a fire underwater: impossible and silly.
Here are the most common reasons why some people don’t like to read.
Having the wrong mindset
Most commonly because of the unhealthy relationship they develop with reading during their school years, many people still see reading as a chore even in their adulthood. Mandatory reading lists, tests about books we were supposed to read during the summer, and sometimes books that were simply inappropriate for our age did that to us back in school.
To be fair, the problem with seeing reading as a chore has a little more to do with our upbringing even before we started school. A love for reading should be induced in a child’s life from a very early age. Parents should read to their children throughout the first years of life and the nature of the experience doesn’t only help the child develop, but it also makes him associate reading with a pleasurable feeling.
Children who are not read to in the early years of life tend to be the ones who develop an unhealthy relationship with reading in school, which later turns into a complete disregard for reading in adulthood.
Changing the mindset is not an easy thing to do, but it is possible. The most important thing is to understand that reading is a gift we’ve been given, that it has countless benefits, and that learning to love it just takes a bit of time and some willpower.
Not the right book
One common mistake people make is to not expand their options. Starting a book after not having read one since school and finding it boring does not mean that you don’t like reading. You just don’t like THAT book.
We all have different tastes and different preferences when it comes to music, movies, cars, and even food. Reading is no exception. Finding a book that will completely change the way you feel about reading is not going to happen with the first title you pick up.
Most people who claim they don’t like to read actually never found the right book.
Not the right author or genre
While each book is different, some do have certain things in common. Books that were written by the same author and the ones that belong to the same genre usually share some similarities.
Many people who claim that reading is not something they enjoy doing simply haven’t found an author or a genre that matches their preferences.
Sometimes reading is boring
Without sugarcoating this at all, reading can be boring sometimes. Especially considering the alternative pastime activities we have at our disposal nowadays, reading can seem like a pretty dull experience.
Listening to music, scrolling through your social media feeds, or watching TV are activities that stimulate our brains in completely different ways. These activities are visually more enticing, more interactive, and require little to no effort.
This effortless entertainment comes at a price though. There are very few benefits to gain from it, but the choice is sometimes just as tough as choosing between a piece of candy and an apple. You know which one is better for you, but subconsciously, your brain is also aware of the fact that the liver will extract more energy with less effort from a sugar-loaded piece of candy and it makes you crave it instead of the healthier apple.
Yes, the odds of laughing out loud while reading a book are slimmer than watching a comedy, and that is why reading is sometimes considered a boring activity by comparison with its alternatives.
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How to enjoy reading books?
Now that we know why we don’t like reading, what can we do about it? How to love reading books? How can we learn to find joy in reading?
Well, there are several solutions to this, but it all needs to start with a good motivation and a true desire on your part. Assuming that your motivation is right and that your heart is in the right place, here are a couple of things you need to do in order to start enjoying reading books.
Change your mindset
The first thing you need to do in order to start enjoying reading books is to change the way you look at reading. Reading is not a chore, it is something you do for yourself. Realizing how much you stand to gain from reading for as little as 20 minutes per day is going to have a huge impact on the way you see reading and how eager you will be to keep doing it.
You’re an adult now, nobody is going to quiz you on the book you’ve just read. If you don’t like a book, stop reading it and try a different one. Nobody is forcing you to do it, there is no pressure from anyone, you are doing this for your own benefit. Relax with a good book, drink a glass of wine, and reward yourself through reading for your daily achievements.
Explore different authors and genres
Don’t allow yourself to remain hung up on the idea that you don’t like reading. You just haven’t found the right book yet. Try different authors, and explore different genres. Considering the number of books that have been written throughout history, the odds of not finding at least one that you love are practically zero.
Some genres are more entertaining and more suited for people who find it hard to read. Try some bestsellers from genres that are prone to keep you engaged: thrillers, science-fiction, comedy, and fantasy books are generally easier to read and harder to put down. It’s probably best if you avoid drama or historical books at first, at least until you get a little more into reading.
Use Basmo to make reading more fun
Reading can be more fun nowadays thanks to reading apps. These tiny wizards you can simply install on your phone or mobile device will add a certain level of gamification to your reading, which will make it a lot more interesting.
Basmo, for example, is a reading tracking app that provides you with interesting statistics about your reading: how much you read, how quickly you do it, and how often. Basmo can measure your reading speed, it can show you how close you are to achieving your reading goals, and by using all this information, you can improve your reading habits.
On top of this, Basmo can help you keep track of your emotions while reading.
Each reading session that is ended will prompt you to select an emoji that best represents the emotional status you’re in after reading.
With the help of the weekly emotions report, you will be able to monitor how reading makes you feel over a more extensive period of time, which will give you an idea if the materials you’re reading are the right ones for you.
Basmo is user-friendly and feature-packed for the modern reader. Reading can be a lot more fun and enjoyable if you track it with Basmo.
Keep a reading journal
Another thing to do in order to properly learn how to enjoy reading books is to keep a reading journal. Putting your thoughts about the things you’re reading on paper can enhance the experience since you will basically add an extra layer of emotion to your action.
You can jot down what you liked or disliked about the things you’ve been reading, which is going to make it a more personal and mindful experience. You can also use the journal to keep track of your emotions throughout your reading sessions, which will stand as a testament to whether you liked reading a book or not as soon as you’ve finished it.
Basmo can help with this as well.
Keeping a reading journal with Basmo is not only possible, but also convenient, seamless, and effective.
With just a couple of taps on your mobile device, the app can bring up your journal and you can start typing. You don’t risk ever losing it, you can simply access and edit it, and the app also helps you mark down the emotions after each reading session through emojis.
Make it a daily habit
Whether you realize it or not, we all love structure. We simply function better, and even if some of us claim otherwise, having things in order brings us a certain level of satisfaction.
That is why any healthy habit can be implemented in our daily lives a lot easier if we manage to schedule it in a convenient, but strict way. Reading is no different. In order to start loving to read, you need to figure out a way to do it constantly.
The easiest way to achieve this is to use Basmo for setting your reading schedule.
Until reading every day becomes second nature, using the Basmo scheduler is the next best thing.
It will help you set your reading sessions on any days of the week you want, at any given time of day, and it will also remind you of any upcoming sessions through notifications.
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Make it social
Reading doesn’t have to be something you do all by yourself. Adding a social aspect to your reading can make the experience a lot more pleasurable. You could choose to have a reading buddy so you have someone to share the experience with, or you can join a book club and discuss the books you read with pretty interesting people. The weekly meeting and the heated debate can make it all worth it!
If human interaction is not your cup of tea, you can go a different way and achieve similar results with online communities dedicated to readers. You can find them on pretty much any social media platform you can think of, and they can be quite useful and entertaining.
Eliminate distractions
Reading is an activity you will enjoy the most if you’re in a relaxed and quiet environment. Try to find a cozy corner in your house where you can sit in a comfortable position, turn off your TV, put your phone in Airplane mode, and try to forget about everything else while you read. Focus on the book and the story and leave the world behind while you start your imaginary adventures alongside the main character in the book you’re reading.
Reducing TV time and the time you spend online, in general, will have a positive effect on how you see reading. Reducing the amount of overstimulation you expose your brain to on a daily basis will make it a lot easier for you to enjoy reading books.
Read books you’ve seen movies based on
A relatively surprising approach to learning how to like reading books is to go against the general advice you will receive from true bookworms. While most avid readers generally despise the movies based on their favorite books and advise us against watching them, for people who don’t like reading a good thing to do is the exact opposite.
If you particularly like a certain movie, check and see if it’s not by any chance based on a book. If it is, read it, even if you already know what is going to happen. The familiarity with the characters and the story will make the book a lot easier to read and can also make it a lot more enjoyable.
Conclusion
Learning how to enjoy reading books is not a very easy thing to do, especially if your relationship with books and reading, in general, has been a toxic one since school.
Overcoming this with Basmo will make the process simpler and quicker though, and the results will leave you extremely satisfied.
