When is the last time you picked up a book, and read it, for the sheer enjoyment of a story? Or when was the last time you decided to learn something, so you found books about it?

via GIPHY

For me, it had been a very long time. I felt guilty for reading if I didn’t have a perfectly clean house or dinner already in the pot; I felt stupid and out of touch for not reading anymore. But I felt like I didn’t have time, didn’t know what to read, and who reads real books anymore anyway?

Then I read an article that said that successful people read. A lot.

I started following some fun people on Instagram, authors, readers, bloggers, and amazingly they all read books. If they have time to write, feed their families, look fabulous, and read, there had to be a way to make it work for me, too.

Go ahead and read.

It’s not selfish. It’s not stupid. It’s not a waste of time.

[bctt tweet=”Go ahead and read a book. It’s not selfish, it’s not stupid, and it’s not a waste of time.” username=””]

You’re probably  reading this on your phone. Guess what? You can read books on your phone. You can probably borrow, hold, and renew books from your library’s website within about 2 minutes if you clicked away right now.

I know the excuses: I’m tired. I don’t have time. I have no attention span. Have you met my kids?

I get it.

I spent years not reading because I had convinced myself that I didn’t have the time or the brainpower to read an actual book with whole paragraphs and chapters and all the words. So I stuck to scrolling social media because I could take it in 45 seconds at a time.

Except, those 45 seconds at a time turned into hours. If I didn’t have time to read but I had time to follow everybody else’s lives on Instagram and Facebook, I was only fooling myself.

via GIPHY

Priorities.

For a few years after college, I had lost the love of reading, because apparently required reading kills joy. However, it’s interesting that a Pew Research Study said educated women are the highest demographic of readers.

It is apparent common knowledge that most successful CEOs read 4-5 books a month. That works out to nearly 60 books in a year, or at least a book every week. (article here) This author references a podcast giving some really great tips for reading faster and reading more.

Why read?

Obviously, there are things to learn when we read. But there are health and physiological reasons to read. A fascinating article and infographic here give better explanations than I could.

So much of what I remember about my mom when I was a kid was her reading at the table while we ate lunch. And reading in her chair while we played. And reading and reading and reading to us.

Do you read to your kids? I admit I’m not as good or as fond of this practice as some moms are. And I am definitely not as dedicated to reading aloud as my mom was to us

Do you want to read? Here are a few ways to work it into life:

Do you prefer listening while doing?

Some people learn better and retain more while listening and keeping their hands occupied. Audio books may be the way for you to read more. Untangle those earbuds and search your library’s offerings.

Take advantage of listening while commuting or while in carpool line. I recently waited 40 minutes to pick up my daughter; it would have gone by faster had I brought a book with me.

Did you know there are many audio books recorded on YouTube? So many free books!

Are you a fan of the experience of reading?

What I mean is, do you like to sit, hold the book, turn the pages, have a favorite drink, and delve into the experience of reading? You will need to be more strategic for these dates with yourself, and deliberately carve out that time, since kids usually have no concept of allowing these idyllic moments. You may have to plan to head to bed earlier. You may have to say no to the Netflix binge.

Where should you start? 

Do you have books on your shelf that you haven’t read? Pick one up. See if it grabs you. If it doesn’t, let yourself read something else. Life is too short to read books that don’t interest you.

Take full advantage of your library card. Pretty much all library systems now have a website that allows you to browse, reserve, and even electronically check out books with a few clicks! See what you can find online today. Some states have an inter-library loan, so if your library doesn’t have something you want, it can get it from another library.

I have great luck just browsing the aisles of the library. I’m a non-fiction junkie. Cook books, craft how-tos, biographies, theology books, the “for dummies” books.

Phone a friend! Who do you know who reads all the time? Text her and ask what books she has loved lately? Ask for recommendations on social media. I asked for books to take when we went to the beach last summer, and have a long list from so many different friends that it will take me until next summer to get through them!

Look online. Do you follow somebody who is releasing a book? Who is always sharing books that sound so fun or so helpful? What’s free on Amazon today?

The Modern Mrs Darcy (Anne Bogel) has some fantastic reading lists, that she updates frequently. She also shares deals on Amazon when there are some good book finds.

Go to the book store! They smell nice, and you can handle the books, flip through pages, browse and talk to real live people. Sometimes they have story time for the kids. Some have coffee. Support your local independent book store if you can.

Are you ready? Go read. It is definitely worth your time.

I’m linking today with Teaching What is Good Thanks for visiting!