How to Start the Habit of Reading Books?

Whenever I talk about starting the habit of reading books, the following quote comes to my mind:

“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” – Harry S. Truman

Reading is one of the best habits for personal growth and leadership. A good leader must have good character, and reading quality books helps build that character. We all know this and want to read more books, but many of us struggle to make it happen.

I’m an avid reader and have been reading books for over a decade. As of writing this article, I’ve read over 175 books and counting.

So, without further ado, let’s discuss how to get hooked on books.

Pick an Interesting One

So, have you ever asked someone for a book recommendation? What suggestions did you get?

Let me guess – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Atomic Habits, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Drive, and so on. First, you might have started with one of these self-help books. Then, you might have read a chapter or two enthusiastically, got bored or distracted, and finally gave up. Some might have convinced ourselves that ‘reading is not my cup of tea’.

Well, these books are good, no doubt. Therefore, we must read these books at some point in our lives. However, these books are not the ideal ones to start with.

Just like we need to build our muscles and endurance for any sport, we also need to build our “reading muscles.” To do that, we should choose books that are interesting enough to keep us hooked.

Interestingly, the same thing happened to me. Initially, I started and gave up reading a couple of times, only to try again after months. Finally, when I picked the right set of books, I got hooked on books.

Therefore, I recommend starting with fiction rather than self-help books. Reading fiction has its benefits, as a good fiction book helps to reduce stress, improve concentration, develop empathy, and build character.

“Read what you love until you love to read.” – Naval Ravikant

Here are some of my favorite ones, you can start with:

The Harry Potter Series (J. K. Rowling)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Shiva Trilogy (Amish Tripathi)
Books by Agatha Christie

Find Time for Reading

“I don’t have time to read” is the most common excuse. Interestingly, we don’t need a lot of time to develop the habit of reading. All we need is to pick up a book, read a page or a paragraph, and call it a day. Once we develop an interest in reading, time no longer remains an issue. We find ways to make time and explore different methods to enjoy reading.

I, for instance, have a lot of time for reading. I read for an hour before going to bed, listen to audiobooks during my office commute, and listen to audiobooks when I go for a walk. Sometimes, I even take long walks just to listen to more books.

Read Everyday

Repetition is key in building any habit. Therefore, we need to make conscious efforts to start doing something. With repetition, our subconscious mind takes charge. So, it requires significantly less effort and resistance to do the same thing. The same applies to reading. All we need to do is to make sure that we read every day without fail. It does not matter if we read for a minute or two or an hour.

Go Digital

I always love reading hard copies of books. However, I can’t always carry books everywhere. So, having digital copies of books in eBook readers (like Kindle) or mobile helps me to effectively use my leisure for reading.

For example, if I am traveling or waiting in a queue for something, I use that time to read a book in the Kindle mobile app. It’s like carrying a library with me everywhere I go. The same is true for audiobooks.

Join a Book Club

Unquestionably, joining a group of like-minded people always helps to pursue our goals faster. Therefore, a book club not only keeps us motivated to read more but also helps us to connect with people. We can easily find good book clubs on the social media of our choice.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s Get Set Read.