HOW TO JUMPSTART YOUR READING

Hi! It has been a hot minute! I am not sure if I am here for the day, or if I will be blogging frequently. The truth is, I AM BORED out of my mind and felt inspired to write a blog post and, so, here I am. A post about reading.

At the begining of the year I set a goal to read one book a month or 12 books this year. I knew it was a lofty goal becayse I only read a few books a year. Admittedly, I have never been a huge book reader. Even though I have always enjoyed reading, I couldn’t find the time  or the focus to commit to reading as much as I wanted. Well, fast forward to March & COVID and I still had not read a single book. Told you it was a loft goal!

At the beginning of this stay home situation, I bought two books to read knowing thinking that I would have some extra time on my hands. WRONG! Now, I found myself with less time! Not even time to watch my shows. Needless to say, started getting full and the free time I did have, I was either watching TV or watching TV and scorlling! At one point, got so bored, I started Where the Crawdads Sing but I couldn’t get into it. If you’ve read it, you know that’s nuts because it is such a good book. Anyway, fast foward to week 100th of this stay home situation and I was still in the same cycle. Mom, work, tv, social media and wine. I swear, I was getting dumber by the day. Then one day my girlfriend told me about book she was reading, Fast Girl by Suzy Favor Hamilton (missing from picture, lent it to a friend) and I just knewI had to read this book. I ordered it on Amazon, and within a few days, I was enthrolled in the story of the olympic runner who self sabotaged her enitre career, leaves her husband and baby at home, moved to vegas and became a top call girl all due to being missdiagnosed for bipolar disorder.

It is now May 26, after finishing Hidden Valley Road,  I can happily say that within a 4 week periond, I have caught up to my goal of one book per month and I have no plans to stop reading.

I wanted to share what helped me jumpstart my reading incase you are stuggling too.

1. Reading is a commitment just like working out is. I had to learn to make time for it and commit to reading. That means breaking up with another habit. Hopefully a bad one. Mine was is scrolling and TV. I still do it, but I do it less.
2. I put my phone away. I dock it and put it on silent. My mind wanders naturally, so having the phone next to me is too much of a distraction.
3. Books have timing. Don’t feel bad if you can’t get into a book that EVERYONE loved. Headspace plays a huge role in the books you connect with. Put it down and move on to the next one. Come back to it later.
4. Make reading a ritual. Find a cozy corner, get your favorite drink; mine is hot water with lemon or a glass of wine. Light your favorite candle or diffuse your favorite oil, and get comfortable. Find or creat your reading nook.
5. Have two or more books you want to read in your possession. I used to buy one book at a time, and if I wasn’t into it, it would sit until I made myself read it or got to the store to buy a new one. It could be weeks or months before I did either. I found that having two or more books from my list takes away an excuse and I can hold myself accountable.
6. It takes time to find your groove. They say it takes 17 times doing something for it to become a habbit.
7. And finally, read different types of books. Read some fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs. That has helped me bot get bored and stay engaged.

Anyway, I hope this helps one person jumpstart their reading. All the books I have read so far are linked below.

Happy Reading! Marisela

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