Reading Tips

A degree in English Literature brings along with it a heck of a lot of reading and over the past year I have developed a way to make sure that I am reading continuously. I thought today I would share with you my tips.

1. Set goals and deadlines

Even with book I am reading for pleasure I always set a deadline for how long I want the book to take. It helps to keep up the number of books getting read and helps motivate the speed of reading. This stops big gaps of not reading. In terms of uni reading it is good finish reading books in plenty of time for the lecture on them and deadlines mean that I have always read the text that is needed before the lecture.

2. Set a specific time to read each day

This changes depending on whether I am at uni or not. I like to read on my commute as I often cannot get wifi so I can't get distracted as easily. It also helps to pass the time and means that I feel as though I am doing something productive with my time. It's slightly harder for me when I am not at uni and that is why I choose to read at a specific day, which is normally before I go to bed. Again, it helps to keep up the amount I am reading.

3. Split the book equally over days

I choose how long I want the book to take to read and then split the book into an equal number of pages. Normally, depending on the number of pages, I split the book into 3-4 days if I am at home and 5 days if I am at uni.

4. Always read for pleasure

I believe it is important even during the busiest of times to read for pleasure. Even when assignments are on top of me I always find the time on my commute to read a good piece of young adult fiction to take my mind off it. I find that now I read so much for my course, I enjoy reading for pleasure so much more than I use to.

5. Read everything

Although I read a lot of books from the same genre, I try not to limit myself to always reading the same thing. If my degree has taught me anything, it is that I sometimes enjoy the books that I would never normally consider reading and as a result I enjoy them so much more because of that. For example Room by Emma Donoghue is a book with a very disturbing real life story. However, I found it such a fascinating read.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)