Let’s Talk Bookish: Finding Motivation to Read

I’m finally back with another LTB post, a few days late, and this week’s topic is one I find very fitting for my recent reading habits. I read so much less than I used to, due to a combination of school, activities, and serious lack of motivation. But, whenever I do manage to sit down and read, I’m so much happier! So, here are all my thoughts on finding the motivation to read — and thank you to Jillian for such suggesting this topic!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and co-hosted by me and Dini @ Dinipandareads! Every Friday we have a different topic for participants to write about and discuss. The topic for Friday, May 9 was all about motivation for reading!

Prompts: How do you motivate yourself to sit down and concentrate on reading? Do you have a set reading time/schedule that works best for you to focus? Do you have tips/tricks that you would recommend others try?
(suggested by Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

How do i motivated myself?

I’m not always successful in motivating myself to read, but I do try!

I love reading, but my motivation is so inconsistent. It’s also tricky with school — senior year has been so busy, and I’ve done a lot more reading than in the past for all my classes. My environment science class is very reading-heavy, I’ve had tons of textbook readings for history, and I’ve read lots of books, poems, and excerpts of various for AP Literature this year. Once I get done with all my schoolwork, however, I often find myself lacking motivation to sit down and read books for fun, on my own.

I try to read for just a few minutes before bed, and when I manage to do that, it usually makes me excited to finish the book, and I’ll end up reading a lot the next day as well. I’m often exhausted before bed, however, and fall asleep before I’m able to focus on a book.

This year, I’ve tried to read more in the mornings, at that’s been a pretty good way of motivating myself to read more. If I read a couple pages during breakfast, or before my first class starts, I always feel more motivated to read throughout the day.

So overall, I think my main motivation is just pushing myself to read a few pages each day. Then, I usually end up reading more than a few pages, and finish books a lot faster. It’s really all about getting myself to open the book and start reading!

reading schedules?

I definitely don’t have a reading schedule of any kind. I pretty much just read when I feel like it and have the time. Books I read for english class are usually on more of a schedule, but to be honest I’m usually terrible at staying exactly on track, and I never really like to read while thinking about such specific sections.

tips & Tricks

My biggest piece of advice for finding the motivation to read is to read a little bit every day. That way, even if you’re not reading a lot, at least you’re making some progress!

I’m also pretty much always reading multiple books at once, usually in different formats. I think this is so helpful for finding the motivation to read, because then if I’m bored with one book, I can switch to one I’m more interested in. Or, if I don’t have the time to sit down with a physical book, I can listen to an audiobook while walking to school, or something.

So, having a couple books in different genres & formats is another thing I find helpful, if you like to read multiple books at once.

Find links to this week’s posts compiled on on Dini’s blog!

That’s it for this week’s LTB – thanks to everyone who participated in this week’s topic!

How do you find motivation to read? Do you have any sort of reading schedule? Or do you just read whenever you feel like it? What tips do you have for readers? Do you like reading multiple books at once? Chat with me in the comments below!