6 Hacks For Reading More Books In The New Year

One of my new year's resolutions for 2015 is to read 40 books. I thought this was ambitious until I stumbled across a Life By Experimentation blog post in which globe-trotting web designer Zane Claes recommends his top five books out of 100 BOOKS HE READ in 2014. While Zane's job appears more flexible than most of ours (and certainly mine), this is still quite an admirable accomplishment, particularly since we determined that reading is not a waste of time.

Zane's 100 books got me thinking that perhaps I can and should shoot for more than 40 books. My to-read list is huge and keeps growing longer despite finishing more books every year for the last five years (6, 20, 27, 28, and 36). I want that to-read list to get shorter - I've got a lot of great stuff on there that I can't wait to get to. But where should this extra reading time come from, especially while retaining the same job and striving to maintain the same hobbies, exercise regimen, and social life of a fun-seeking twenty-something?

I've identified some simple, subtle habits I've gradually adopted that have continued to improve my reading efficiency, quantity, and enjoyment over the past five years - literary life hacks, if you will:

1. Keep a running list of books to read.

There's something romantic about wandering the shelves of a library or bookstore and randomly reading the first book that seems interesting. There's also something a little unfulfilling. When I choose a book to read I want to know that one of my respected peers liked it, or be relatively sure that I will get some sort of personal benefit out of it, e.g. historical knowledge, entertainment, or appreciation of great literature. Learning from and/or enjoying a book ensures a greater chance that you will want to keep reading, that you'll be excited and passionate about reading. Sites such as Goodreads and Shelfari are outstanding for curating a to-read list, and both have great communities of readers reviewing, discussing, and rating books. Or employ another method to keep track. Zane Claes keeps his list in a Google Doc. My mom keeps hers on a legal pad. Whatever you decide to use, get excited about tackling your list.

2. Strategically read multiple books at a time.

Over breakfast peruse a few quick pages of an interesting coffee-table-type book. Stuff a Kindle loaded with light fiction into your pocket or purse for small bits of downtime in lines and waiting rooms instead of mindlessly scrolling through your Facebook feed. Keep the new hardcover historical novel next to your couch or bed for dedicated reading at home. The bottom line is that having multiple books going at the same time allows one to be flexible and efficient. I wouldn't get much out of reading two pages of Tolstoy or David Foster Wallace over morning coffee and eggs, but breakfast is a perfect time to read snippets of 30-Second Philosophies or The Atlas of Remote Islands. Squeezing a few extra minutes of reading into each day adds up quicker than you might think.

3. Put down your damn phone.

Turn off the TV. Shut your laptop. Disconnect your Kindle's wifi. I doubt it needs to be reiterated how distracting social technology can be. Light a candle. Put on some classical music perhaps. The rewards of getting completely lost in a book are many. From a 2013 Time article entitled Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer:

The deep reader, protected from distractions and attuned to the nuances of language, enters a state that psychologist Victor Nell, in a study of the psychology of pleasure reading, likens to a hypnotic trance. Nell found that when readers are enjoying the experience the most, the pace of their reading actually slows. The combination of fast, fluent decoding of words and slow, unhurried progress on the page gives deep readers time to enrich their reading with reflection, analysis, and their own memories and opinions. It gives them time to establish an intimate relationship with the author, the two of them engaged in an extended and ardent conversation like people falling in love. 

This is not reading as many young people are coming to know it. Their reading is pragmatic and instrumental: the difference between what literary critic Frank Kermode calls "carnal reading" and "spiritual reading." If we allow our offspring to believe carnal reading is all there is — if we don't open the door to spiritual reading, through an early insistence on discipline and practice — we will have cheated them of an enjoyable, even ecstatic experience they would not otherwise encounter.

Note that your pace may slow, but that you are getting more satisfaction and personal benefit out of the experience. You are therefore more inclined to keep on reading and less inclined to get distracted - ultimately resulting in increased quantity and quality of reading.

4. Stop subvocalizing.

Many techniques exist that claim to triple or quadruple reading speed. These include "fixating" on every third word, reading multiple lines at a time, and even reading in an S-shaped pattern down the page so as to eliminate the time it takes for the eyes to jump to the beginning of the next line. However, many research studies and personal experience forums are quick to refute the efficacy of these techniques, citing that they often cause a nearly complete loss of comprehension and that the process itself exhausts the reader and takes the joy out of reading. One technique that passes most scrutiny, however, is eliminating subvocalization. Most children learn to read by memorizing alphabet sounds and then stringing them together into words they read aloud. Unfortunately, whether we realize it or not this tendency of a younger reader often persists into adulthood as subvocalization, or mentally "saying" each word as you read it. Subvocalization decreases the speed at which we can process text by two or three times. Try training your mind to eliminate this latent bad habit by occupying your mouth while reading by humming or by chewing on gum or a toothpick.

5. Listen to audiobooks on the go.

Per the US Census Bureau, the average one-way commute time of an American is 25 minutes. The Center for Disease Control and the American Heart Association both recommend 30 minutes of physical activity 5 times per week. That's 6 hours and 40 minutes per week that your eyes can't focus on a page (assuming you don't take public transit or ride a stationary bicycle for exercise). While the audiobook industry was widely considered doomed around the turn of the century, a recent resurgence in popularity has occurred likely because people are recognizing that listening to audiobooks is a way to maximize the productivity of such stretches of time. iPod Shuffles are amazing little devices for listening to audiobooks while running. Sites such as Audible, SimplyAudiobooks, and others send users new audiobooks for a small monthly membership fee; the former does everything by download whereas the latter also offers the option to ship CDs to your house (a la Netflix). Check out this comparison of the top ten audiobook services. Also, most libraries support a host of free popular audiobook (and ebook) downloads through sites such as OverDrive, Freading, Hoopla, and Libravox. Which brings us to our last little hack:

6. Borrow.

The price of books (both physical and digital) continues to rise with inflation but this obviously need not shy the reader away. Use the crap out of your local library, to which you of course contribute tax money. If they don't have a certain title, often they will buy it if a patron requests it. Or borrow from coffee shop shelves. Swap books with a friend. Pay a tenth of the price in a charming used bookstore. Whatever the method, don't let price be a factor in reading less. As a bonus, often just having the book lying around your house or apartment is enough to drum up your excitement for reading it. It is for me, anyway.