Hey guys!

Todays blog post is going to be slightly different from the kind of stuff that I usually post.

I want to talk about books (obviously) and how to read more of them.

This is going to sound big headed (but I promise i’m not trying to be).

A lot of people ask me, how do you read so fast? or how did you finish that book so fast? and so I feel today, morally obliged, to share my 3 powerful tips with you so that all you bookworms out there who are constantly having internal battles regarding goodreads goals can stress no more!
Before I start with my tips I would like to mention that I wasn’t always a fast reader. In fact for a while the reason I didn’t enjoy reading was because of how slow a reader I was.

Tip Number One

-Don’t Set Goals

This might sound like a strange thing to do when everyone around you and everyone in the book community is talking about their goodreads goal but trust me, it works.

Think of it this way:

If you are stressing about achieving a book goal then every time you go to pick up a book you are going to have associated anxiety with the speed at which you are reading and the speed at which you are completing any given book.

Not only does this take away from the pleasure of the activity it also slows down your reading speed because you are putting active energy into worrying about how fast you are reading and so your thoughts are going to drift away more often therefore slowing your reading speed down. I know right?!! Who knew reading could be so ironic and sciency?

A Note to be mentioned

Just because I personally don’t find a reading goal helpful doesn’t mean they are not helpful for everyone! Goodreads is a wonderful platform and if you are still wanting to contribute to your reading goal maybe just total all of your logged books by the end of the year and make a post about them on your profile!

Tip Number Two

–Have a routine 

Lots of people ask how I can read so many books in a week but those same people are only reading once every 17 months anyway! For me, one of the most important ways of quickening your reading speed is ensuring that you are reading every day and if possible at the same time every day.

This not only creates a natural pattern for your mind – meaning you will be able to slow down easier and stop thinking so much ( a key to getting engrossed in a book ), you will also be able to be practicing your reading style regularly.

Just like any skill,  your reading is a muscle that, with proper use, will get better with time. Therefore it is important to go to that literary gym EVERYDAY and work out! I know this might sound really obvious but seriously try it out!

Tip Number Three

-Please, do your research

This is by far the most important of all the tips. Too many people waste hours and hours of their lives drudging through a book at a snails pace because they simply hate the plot.

If only they had done their research about the book prior to reading it then they would have known in the first place that they were going to hate it.

I am not talking about revealing every spoiler and reading a summary of every chapter before you turn the first page. Essentially I am asking you to be reading reviews, reading blurbs, watching book tube videos about said book and quite often in my case looking at star ratings! Many people in the book community believe that it is a huge literary no no to overlook a book because of how well it has done with the critics. Well let me just say this: It wouldn’t have gotten such a low star rating if it was as good as sliced bread!

It might sound like a mean casting off of new authors and books that got misunderstood but seriously: don’t read a book if it got one star on goodreads! (Once again I sound obvious but people need to realise that they don’t have to put up with crap literature!).

The conclusion and thinking behind this tip is simple: if you enjoy a book, you are going to read it faster!

Thanks for reading this strange and slightly bossy blog post.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth!