What I Learned From Reading 130 Books in 2020
Here are four lessons to improve your reading habits
In 2020 many people gained more time to devote to their hobbies rather than their work. It’s amazing how much time is opened up when one does not have to commute to work every day. That opened up free time is part of why I was able almost to double the usual number of books that I read in a year. I typically read between 60 and 75 books a year, but in 2020 I read 130 books.
Of course, I cannot claim that extra time from the pandemic is the sole reason that I doubled the number of books I read. I also have my kindle unlimited and Scribd subscriptions to thank for many of the books that I read.
I learned several things from reading 130 books in the year 2020.
1. Read What You Want
I know that this one seems fairly obvious, but many people, including myself, struggle with this. We are bombarded with book recommendations from people we know and various online book communities. Unfortunately, this bombardment has led to many people ignoring their preferences for books to find out whether or not a book deserves the hype it receives. The problem with this is that it can lead to reading books one is unlikely to enjoy.
How often do you finish a book that you do not enjoy? How often does reading a book you do not enjoy cause you to enter a reading slump? How often have you struggled to read at all when you are not enjoying what you read?
If you are trying to increase the number of books you read in a year, try focusing on reading books you truly enjoy. If you are not enjoying a book, you are not obligated to finish it. Instead, move on to something new if you are not enjoying your current read. If you are unsure what you like, experiment with books from different genres and book formats until you find what you like.
Want to read a middle-grade book? Want to read a picture book? Want to read a young adult novel? Want to read poetry? Want to read a spicy romance novel? Ignore what society says. You should read and read whatever you want.
2. Try Things Outside of Your Perceived Comfort Zone
I know that this lesson seems to contradict the last one. But I promise that they go hand in hand. How can one truly know what they enjoy reading if one does not try new things? I worded this lesson as a perceived comfort zone as we may find ourselves surprised when we try new things. I tried two new genres in 2020: fantasy romance and cosy mysteries. These are two genres that I did not read before 2020 and that I thought I would not like. But, to my surprise, I ended up really enjoying them.
3. All Forms of Reading Are Valid
ALL forms of reading are VALID. Reading is reading, so read whatever you want to consume the stories you want to know. A decent amount of the books that I read were audiobooks, manga, and graphic novels.
4. Have Fun
I know that this lesson also feels like an obvious one, but it is also one that I forget from time to time. I get caught up in the latest reading challenges, read popular books, or read as many books as possible, and I forget to have fun.
Yes, having a larger amount of books read than previous years feels great, but we should not stress ourselves out over the numbers. It does not look like I will read the same amount of books this year as I did in 2020, and I am okay with that because reading is not fun if I force myself to do it. If you prefer to read thick books over thin ones, the total number of books you read in a year will be less than those who read short books. There is nothing wrong with that because you are reading and reading what you enjoy.
The lessons that I have learned all tie back to reading whatever you want and reading what you like.
Focusing your time and energy on books, you do not enjoy only takes time away from books you could be enjoying. While society may have ideas about what people should read, society does not know what you should read because society does not know you. Most importantly, we read to have fun, so read whatever you want and stop forcing yourself to read what you are not enjoying.
Further reading from A Thousand Lives:
