Life Clichés (11) : 10 Lessons from 600 Books about Reading

A few weeks ago I have successfully hit a new milestone : I have finished reading 600 books ! Now I know that it is not a big number nor a prodigy, but I still wanted to celebrate this tiny achievement. So before I go on and share my reading experience, I would love to take a moment and be grateful for these reading years, when books saved me, taught me and accompanied me everywhere. I'm also lucky to have been disciplined enough to always carry a book to read for the last 7 years.

Naturally, this article is the way I wanted to celebrate it. Whether you're a new reader or a confirmed one, you will find here a few insights about the activity of reading, and how I am enjoying every bit of it.

  

        1.     Start small

2013, I was struggling to say the least to not fail my classes: not your college straight As student. I made the late realisation that most of what you need to know about life isn't in your uni's curricula and that's how it hit me to turn to books for that. I have read my first book when I was 5. As soon as I was able to read and understand my parents made it a habit to get me short stories, and then small books until they now reprimand me from my extravagant book hauls. Back then, I used to read 4 short stories a year, and maybe maybe 1 book too if I was lucky. 

During college I joined Goodreads, and made the eye opening discovery : I can set annual reading goals. Truth be told this has never crossed my mind before. I was already reading 1 to 2 books a month just to keep me company whenever I'm alone : which was pretty much all the time. I set my first goal at 30, because I knew I could fit that amount easily to my schedule and that it wouldn't cause that much trouble. By the end of the year, I was not only able to achieve my challenge but ended up reading more than expected. Now don't think of it as compulsive reading : I took all my time to highlight the best parts, write down every single quote I liked (filled a 150 pages notebook). And most of all I was happy, and learning more and more.

Starting with a small number, not only made me super excited when I finished it but encouraged me to read more. Consequently the next year I increased my goal and so on. After 7 years, I'm now reading something between 60 and 70 books per year in three languages (otherwise you get too comfortable reading your favourite language, and we all know how our brain is lazy....so... make it a point to organise your books quota according to languages you speak too)

        2.        Reading time

My major is THE most DIFFICULT major, consensually, so naturally I found it hard to stick to a normal reading time at least as I was imagining it. I always thought of reading time as the perfect tea time activity, sitting with a fellow best friend ideally a reader, exchanging stares now and then, diving in your sofa as you turn the pages... Little did I know, that for my case it was too rare that it was an annual event for me. Instead of which I was reading everywhere and anytime I can! If the professor is late, waiting time, sad times, happy times, minutes before a review (and I'll explain later). 

Most importantly you don't have to link it to specific conditions like : I need my corner, calm, my cup of tea, my favourite pen, and so ... because that will only happen too occasionally !

If you want to have more reading time, make it unconditional. Make sure you always have a book on you whether it is a physical copy, digital copy or an audio-book : Carpe Librem !

Which brings us to another debate :

        3.        Physical or Digital copy ? Or audio-books ?

Although I'm not a professional reader (yet I'd die to read in exchange of a salary :) ), I have my confident choice that digital copies are the best: practicality wise, which solely depends on your reading device/app (and the extension, I have a soft spot for .epub). However, I would still purchase physical copies of books I really enjoyed, or a different edition for research purpose sometimes. 

My reading devices that I tried so far were tablets (iOs + Android) and my mobile phone. In fact, I would rarely go anywhere without my phone, you too I supposed, so I always make the wise choice to go for a wide screen when purchasing my next phone. As for tablets, I thought that they will be better and "healthier" to read on, but I will always struggle with storage and extra-space (chargers, covers, ...etc), but when it comes to iOs or Android : I choose the latter, the amount of good free reading apps you find there, beats Apple Books anytime.

One feature that is keeping me digital, is the possibility to save my bookmarks digitally, and store them in a digital quote book style, or simply email them to my personal mailbox !

When it comes to audio-books, those are the best when you are doing house work : especially washing the dishes. The best books for this situation are self-help ones, there are no plots and generally the flow is quite easy to follow. You might even stop the audio, and write down important things then go back to cleaning ! Also, audio-books are helpful for when you're commuting -especially if you're driving- and if you are listening to them in another language, they are a good way to brush up your pronunciation skills ! 

But how to organise your readings : physical copies, ebooks and audio-books ? and storage ?

        4.        Organise your books and readings + Storage strategies

My personal experience with these three different media helped me develop three storage strategies for each. However, to organise them is very easy : I have a Goodreads account which has helped me in may ways to organise my readings, make TBR  lists, see what other readers thought about a particular book before buying and reading it and also ask around about which edition is the best .... etc. 

If you are willing to commit to the reading activity, probably start by making your own Goodreads account.

The storage issue as I mentioned earlier depends on the book type. In the last 5 years, I have embraced the minimal lifestyle of owning less physical/material copies (after seeing how my father struggled to keep his library neat and well organised). So if the book I just finished wasn't a gift, I will generally give it away to someone who I think will enjoy it. Before this, I used to amass books like my life depended on it and kept an Excel inventory with all the details but that was tiresome.

For ebooks, after keeping my favourite quotes and best bits I would just delete them, although I keep a folder on my external storage for a few gems. But they end up in the bin usually (digital one). 

On the other hand, I prefer streaming audio-books rather than downloading them for two reasons I easily lose track of where I left it and they are generally big files to keep. Needless to say that these end up in the bin after I have enjoyed them of course.

But how could I be such a savage and just discard books ? 

A simple trick that has helped me grow less attached to my books was reviewing them and writing down whatever thoughts I had while doing so or anything worth writing about them !

        5.        Review every book you read

This sounds boring and tedious, but this is your way to detachment ! 

I started regularly reviewing each book I read in the last couple of years. It was tedious and boring, only because I was doing it wrong : I thought of a good review as a comprehensive summary which isn't the same thing. A summary is cold, and has the main points of a book, while a review is very personal and sums up YOUR experience reading that book. So you might add how you felt reading this book, what was the best thing about it, or the worst ...etc and that's very helpful to memorise its content !

Again, Goodreads was very helpful on this matter. It automatically asks you to rate and review each book you finished reading. A lovely feature about it, but there's more impressive tools that could help you enhance your reading habits like : Stats and Metrics.

        6.        Metrics and Stats

Apart from the annual reading challenges and pledges you make as you set your reading goals, there's another Goodreads feature that is truly my coup de coeur : Statistics!

It's a tool that gives you insights about the number of books you read per year, pages per year, publication year, books/pages over time. The graphs are simple and easy to debunk : 

  

And that is very helpful to learn about your reading patterns : when do you read more, what's your reading maximum capacity and this definitely helps you set realistic reading goals... 

        7.        Reading challenges or book clubs

In my personal experience, what has truly helped me stay on track with my reading goals was setting individual reading challenges. For instance, based on the metrics and stats I can assume the amount of books I can read , I would increment it by 10 books or less each year,depending on my annual planning as well. 

It has helped me on two levels : I was only competing with my past self, which was a healthy mindset that has impacted my general outlook on life and second I was free to read whatever I wanted and based on my interests. 

Whereas I have seldom been part of book clubs, many times the suggestion to found my own book club hit me or was proposed by my friends, but I always thought that I have a preference for isolated reading. What I miss is the discussion that stems from such groups, and I might confidently say that on Goodreads, I can still have those kind of conversations, not as lively but anyway ...

        8.        Book affairs

One of the essential freedoms I cherish while reading, is the ability to close a book and open another one on a whim, no scruples. I enjoy book affairs, they're refreshing and keeping you entertained. My recommended setting would be an equilibrium between nonfiction and fiction. Alternating something deeply "professional" and something that is à la limite fantastic. 

My personal record was reading 4 books at a time : moving back and forth was a great mental exercise to keep track of each book.

I apply the same rule when purchasing books, keeping a good balance between bestsellers and rarities, local authors and international authors, .... etc but how do I do to know what to buy/read next, bookfairs ?

        9.        Book fairs

I'm not a regular when it comes to book fairs, and usually my TBRs are set 2 years in advance if not more, the minor changes and alterations that might occur concern novelties in my field of research or sometimes a friend's present. Otherwise, I stay faithful to my priorities. 

So book fairs for me are not places where I can get an idea of what to read next, rather find the ones that have been on my list especially those rare gems that you can only find there. But I do enjoy purchasing new reading accessories ...

        10.        Reading accessories

For reading, you actually don't need much : until recently I used to make my own bookmarks because I enjoyed it, or just improvised it : Train tickets, Souvenirs, Postcards, Receipts, ... anything that could prevent "bunny-earing" my book. (But since I read more digital books .... so I don't need them as much as I used to)

But there are other accessories you can't make or that you'd better buy : 

- A notebook : where you can write down your favourites quotes, your reviews, thoughts, reading lists, ... Digitally speaking that would be an app that you can use for that same reason;

- A pen : I use a special pen for my books notebook, to kindle the literary spirit. It's a feather pen that my father gave me earlier when I started being seriously into reading and writing... But that's not essential, what's essential to me though is :

- A pencil : I don't mind scribbling on the book pages, underlining the important and favourite parts. I find it useful !

- Glasses : For a better and comfy reading experience. Glasses are not just for those with vision issues, it makes reading comfortable and also gives you the geeky look !

- A playlist : Might come handy as well if you read in overcrowded places,  just wish to enter the zone or when you're travelling it might be a familiar anchor to help you concentrate on reading !

I hope this list was helpful, but always remember : 

Reading = You + Book

Can't read it now ? You can listen to it on Soundcloud.