5 Tools To Develop Highly Effective Reading Habits
By Tyler Thomas
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5 min read
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Allow me to share some personal statistics with you:
2019
7 Books
1,862 pages
2020
25 Books
4,799 pages
2021
50 Books
13,920 pages
2022 (as of October 14)
70+ Books
18,459+ pages
I once hated coffee. Vehemently. Until my twenty-second year of life, I refused the boiled bean water. Necessity alone changed my perspective; the necessity of running on three hours’ sleep at an Arkansas district Holiday Youth Convention. That first bitter sip of honeyed vanilla latte scorched both tongue and pride. It took an hour to drain the cup. I’ve drained a cup of boiled bean water every day since.
That same week, I began my first annual reading goal of 24 books. The results speak for themselves, but like my (now) love of coffee, this proclivity toward ink and paper was born of necessity. Reading, for me, is an acquired taste.
Paul wrote Timothy saying “study to show thyself approved…” (2 Tim. 2:10). Study goes beyond consumption. It is a continual process of searching, not just Scripture, but those resources which can illuminate and elucidate the inherent meaning of Scripture. Study is the means by which we rightly divide the Word of Truth. I recall T.F. Tenney having said, “you can be approved or unapproved.”
Necessity.
There is a magic formula to smashing those reading goals. There is a secret sauce. It can be taught, and it can be learned. The following five strategies are guaranteed (or your money back!) to set you on the trajectory for success.
1 - Download the Goodreads app and set an annual goal
I am forever indebted to Johnathan Nazarian for introducing me to the Goodreads app. More than just social media for readers, Goodreads provides an incomprehensibly vast database of books to be virtually shelved in folders labeled “want to read,” “currently reading,” and “read.” Setting an annual goal allows each completed book to tick one’s percentage bar closer and closer to completion. Our innate human desire to organize, check boxes, and visualize progress can and should be used to drive the development of healthy habits. Goodreads enables such (in addition to providing analytics like those at the beginning of this article).
2 - Read what you want/need
The New York Times should not dictate what’s on your nightstand (though many of their “bestsellers” are exemplary). Neither should the New Release table at the local Christian bookstore. Do not pick up another gimmicky book on time management. You’ve perused four this year already, never having finished them, and felt worse about yourself than beforehand. No, find some readers you trust, share your interests, and see what they recommend. Reach out to Likro and let us help you! Check out The Pulpit Librarian (my YT channel). Join a community of readers. Read fiction. Read history. Read theology. Read the bibliographies of your favorite books, and find the works those authors are citing. Read what keeps you reading! Throw the rest in a yard sale box. That quarter is all they’re worth.
3 - Find a medium that works (physical, audio, digital)
90% of the books I read are hard copies. There’s a reason ebooks never drove print out of business. The qualities which physical books possess are ideal for conveyance of information, motivation, and enjoyment. Physical books are, in my opinion, the pinnacle of literary efficacy. “Bookiness” is a description I’ve heard. Ebooks and audiobooks don’t possess “bookiness.” They do offer convenience however. There is no shame in listening to an audiobook. The content is the same (although I would argue they limit the reader’s ability to engage/converse with the text). Perhaps you prefer one medium for study, and another for leisure. Perhaps a Kindle paperwhite can be found in your briefcase at all times. Do what works.
(Also check out Dillon Jordan’s article here on Likro, The Benefits of Audiobooks).
4 - Surround yourself with unread books
Extensive libraries are not a show of arrogance; they’re a mark of humility. To wake up every day surrounded by knowledge, accessible but as yet un-absorbed, is a powerful motivator. Jessica Stillman has a wonderful article on Inc.com covering the subject, and there’s plenty of research to back up the theory. Building your library one book at a time creates problems. For one, there’s a compelling urge to finish each book before purchasing another (more on that below), even if you’re caught in a slump. For another, it makes looking forward to the next read an abstraction, rather than an excitement. At the height of literary motivation, I’m purchasing two books for every one I read. I have 100+ unread books staring me down as I type this article, and frankly they’re not enough. They will never be enough.
5 - Read multiple books/genres concurrently
As hinted above, the one-book-at-a-time method carries with it a significant and dangerous pitfall. You are always one lousy, dense, or difficult book away from a reading slump. A concurrent reading plan is the most significant strategy for increased numbers (but often the most intimidating). Hear me; you will not confuse multiple books. Your brain is an extraordinary biological supercomputer. It is capable of entertaining, organizing, and synthesizing a multitude of complex thoughts. That being said, I diversify across multiple genres for motivation’s sake. At any given moment, you will find me with 3(+) books in my briefcase; one for the head; one for the heart; and one for the art. These usually take the form of an academic theology, a Christian living/devotion, and a fiction/poetry book. The goal is to read one chapter from each, every day. Frequently I will repeat that daily cycle (reading two from each), or if I’m nearing the finish line, plow ahead. If I finish The Lord of the Flies while I’m still on page 170 of Spirit Hermeneutics, I simply grab another novel off the shelf. This method is a readers’ revolving door. It works. This is the magic formula. This is the secret sauce. This is the boiled bean water, and I warn you; it will change your life.
