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One wonderful benefit of blogging about literature is having access to what the next great read will be.  However, I frequently wish for one or two extra hours in my day dedicated soley to reading.  Since this isn’t realistic, I thought I would offer a post on how to get the most reading time out of every day.

1. Time yourself reading a page of whatever book you’ve begun in order to identify the investment of time required to finish it.  For years, the first day I passed out a new novel, I forced my students to literally time themselves reading a single page.  Beginning a novel can feel overwhelming to adolescents, and this exercise made finishing the novel very concrete.  If the novel is 220 pages, and you can read about a page a minute, then you know it will take you approximately 3 1/2 or 4 hours to complete the work.  This breaks down into one week of reading, if you can find 30 minutes a day to read.

2. Try to read 30 minutes every night before going to bed.  Honestly, I am very much a morning person, which means that I can barely get through 5 pages a night before I am sound asleep.  However, budgeting 30 minutes a night is more practical than 30 minutes a morning, when the day’s events are looming.  Plus, there has been ample research that indicates turning off the television and computer, and picking up a book, before bed can lead to a better night’s sleep.

3. Bring your book with you everywhere — seriously!  I recently bought a bag big enough to carry a hard-bound library book, and I make sure my current book is tucked away inside before I leave the house every day.  Don’t have a bag large enough?  Just throw your book in the car so that it is at least walking distance from wherever you may be during the day.  You will be amazed at the minutes you can find here and there that really add up.

4. Spend “wasted” minutes reading — in line at the grocery store, waiting (and waiting) at the DMV, getting your hair done, waiting for the water to boil, etc.  At first it may take a minute to get into the narrative again, but I do this so often that I can now pick up where I left off very quickly.  And you may feel strange reading in public at first, but… honestly… does anyone really care what you are doing?  And it’s not like reading is a shameful secret to only be done behind closed doors…

5. Follow Nancy Pearl’s Rule of Fifty – if a work hasn’t grabbed you by 50 pages, consider putting it aside.  I know the novels that I am not enjoying take me twice as long as those that do.  It’s amazing how quickly I can find the time to get through a story that I enjoy!

So, there are my top 5 ways to find more time to read…  I would love to hear others!  Feel free to leave a comment…

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
~ Chinese proverb ~

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