How to read more books: a few pages a day

Why reading slips

Almost everyone says they would like to read more. Then the day fills up, the phone is closer than the book, and a month goes by with the bookmark in the same place. It is not a lack of willpower. Usually one of these is going on:

• The goal is too big. "An hour a night" sounds lovely and is rarely possible, so nothing happens.
• The book is in the wrong place. If it is on a shelf in another room, the phone wins.
• The book is not right for now. A heavy book after a tiring day can feel like homework.
• You lost your place. After a break it is easy to feel you have to start again.

Each of these has a simple answer: a smaller goal, a book within reach, and permission to change books.

A few pages a day adds up

Ten pages takes most people around ten to fifteen minutes. It fits on a bus, with a morning coffee or in bed before lights out. It does not sound like much, but over a year it is a lot of reading.

These are rough numbers. Some books are long and some are short, and some days you will read far more than your goal. The point is that a small goal you actually keep beats a big one you do not.

Make it easy to start

The best reading habit is one you hardly have to think about.

1. Choose one spot. Leave the book there, open at your page or with a bookmark sticking out.
2. Pick a moment you already have. The first cup of tea, after lunch, or getting into bed.
3. Start with the page goal, not a time. "Ten pages" has a clear finish line. "Read for a while" does not.
4. Put the phone in another room, or face down out of reach, for those few minutes.

Choose books you want to read

A reading goal is not a test. If a book feels like a chore, it is fine to put it down. Many keen readers follow a simple rule: give a book fifty pages, and if it has not caught you by then, let it go.

It also helps to keep two books on the go: one easy, one more demanding. On a tiring evening you can pick up the easy one and still keep your habit going.

Set a goal for the year

A yearly goal gives the habit a shape. Pick a number that feels a little stretching but not stressful. If you read four books last year, aim for eight, not fifty.

Then check it against the calendar now and then. If you are a book or two behind, a short book catches you up. If you are ahead, enjoy it, and maybe try that longer one you have been saving.

Keep the lines that stay with you

Part of the joy of reading is the line that makes you stop and read it again. Writing those down, with the page number, means you can find them later. Over time they become a small collection of what moved you.

How Bookshelf helps

Bookshelf keeps reading simple and makes your progress something you can see.

• Your reading desk shows the book you are on, how far in you are, and how many more reading days it might take at your pace.
• Log your place in one tap. Move the page on, or tap +10 pages, and you are done.
• A shelf that fills up. Each book you finish stands on a wooden shelf in its own colour, with space marked for the rest of your yearly goal.
• A few pages a day. A daily page goal, with bookmarks across the week showing the days you read.
• Kept lines for quotes and thoughts, each with its book and page.
• A gentle reminder at a time you choose, sent only on days you have not read yet.