I’m so happy you’ve clicked on this blog post, because that means you want to read books. Reading is a wonderful exercise that helps stimulate the mind, relax, and most importantly, help you reflect on your life.

I ask everyone if they read books and more often than not, they reply with, “No, I don’t have time.”

Reading requires effort. You have to put in the effort and time to read.

Reading is fun. Books are designed to make us feel. You can read a book and have a completely different interpretation than someone else. Books is something that has been used for centuries as a mode of communication. Before there were paperback and hardcover books, there were scrolls in Egypt. In the 1930s, books were Penguin Publisher started selling books at newsstands for the price of a pack of cigarettes.

Remember: books are political. For decades, countries have banned books that limit what we read. Books have the ability to tell us stories that inspire our everyday actions.

So whether you are avid reader or a beginner, here are some tips and tricks for those hoping to get back into the joy of reading.

1. Make time. Design yourself a schedule for reading. Whether that be when you wake up, before work, after work, before bed, wherever when you can squeeze in 30 minutes a day to read. If you are going to commit to reading, you have to make the time for it. Maybe you could read for 30 minutes on weekdays and one hour on the weekends. You don’t also have to read everyday. You can read every other day. As long as you don’t forget the plot of the book and you don’t have to go back a few pages to remember the plot.

2. Join some sort of book club. You may join our book club or you can join another. Google book clubs on the genre you want to start reading, look into those lists and read the synopsis. There are also lists of books from magazine outlets that recommend books that you may be interested in.

3. Join Goodreads. Goodreads is a great social network for books where you can creat a list of the books you’ve read, want to read, and currently reading, all while sharing with your friends. Goodreads also have thousands of book reviews on almost every book out there. If you are a reader and you are not a member, what are you doing with your life? Download the app!

4. Don’t like the book you are reading? Let it go. Life is too short to read books that are too boring and dull.

5. Barnes and Noble is an expensive place to buy your books so instead go to your local thrift shop. You can find bestseller books at thrift shops for as little as $2. You can also check out thriftbooks.com for books starting at $5, including shipping. If you want new books, Amazon always has good deals.

6. Always carry a book with you. You never know when the line for your coffee, or the doctors visit, will use up your time so instead of waiting with nothing to do, pick up your book to kill the time. You can also download ebooks onto your phone so that you don’t have to carry a bag around.

7. Find a designated reading spot. Whether that be in your room, the living room, the kitchen, the back yard, your favorite coffee shop, or even the public library. Find a space where you are free from distractions, can read in peace and quiet, and a place where it’s comfortable to read at. Not everyone has the budget for a reading chair, but if you do buy one and put it in a place where you have enough light and space to relax to read for hours and hours. Just don’t read in your bed, unless you are doing it to help you sleep.

8. Read books that interest YOU! Many readers have their own books that they recommend and you have to weed out the ones that seem boring. Don’t listen to that annoying coworker or the librarian for book recommendations. They recommend books that interest them. Do your research, buy the ones that seem interesting to you, and read on. There is a book for everyone to enjoy, and you just gotta find it.

9. When you finish one book, have the next one ready to read. When I’m three quarters done with my book, I starting thinking about what book I’m reading next. I recommend create lists, on your own or on Goodreads.

10. Don’t read in bed. One thing that bothers me is how hollywood glamorizes reading in bed.

Reading in bed is just going to make you tired, and next thing you know you are asleep.

11. Don’t get overwhelmed over long books. The longer the book, the better the book is. Most of the books that I enjoy the most, have more than 500 pages.

12. Start reading book series. Book series are always fun because they are the same characters you love, in different settings, told in a series of books.

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Just a reminder: