Hello, lovelies! As you all know, I set the goal of reading 100 books in 2019, and I somehow managed to do it as a busy college student. I know that reading that much is no small feat, so I decided to write out all the things that helped me accomplish this goal. I wrote another post two years ago called How To Start Reading More Books In College, so I tried to ensure that this wasn’t too repetitive. Here are all the things that helped me read 100 books last year. I hope this helps.
Related – How To Start Reading More Books In College
(P.S. I wrote this post in 2019, so I say “this year” instead of “last year.”)
//I Read Books I Wanted To Read, Not Just Impressive Ones (comic books, middle grade, etc.)
I didn’t only read “adult” books or only classics this year. I read short books and long ones. I read graphic novels. I read comic books, though I counted six comics as one book instead of as a book each. I read middle-grade books and YA. I didn’t care about the caliber of literature I was reading, as long as I was reading period. This made reading more fun and not something “impressive.” Because I mainly read books I wanted to read (excluding books for school), it made reading an enjoyable experience.
//The Majority Of The Books I Read Were Audiobooks
The majority of the books I read this year were via audiobook. I just counted, and I listened to 65 audiobooks. I realize that not everyone likes audiobooks, but I actually enjoy them a lot. I’ve never been super into podcasts and I get bored listening to music for an extended amount of time, so whenever I was cleaning my dorm room or walking to class, I’d listen to an audiobook. It was a productive way to use “slush time” in my days. Sometimes I would listen to music or podcasts on my walks to class if I was in the mood, but, for the most part, I listened to books.
I also drive long distances every week, so audiobooks are a way I make my commutes less boring. Normally, I listen to music in the shower or watch YouTube videos at the gym, but there were definitely days where I listened to audiobooks instead.
I’m in college. I’m busy. There are very few times I can justify blocking out three hours a day for reading, but I can easily get through at least an hour on a regular day of college just by listening to a book while waiting in line at the coffee shop or walking to the bus stop. Audiobooks helped me utilize the time I had to do something that I love in the wait.
Related – 16 Ways To Make The Most Of Your College Commute
//I Didn’t Force Myself To Read Every Day
There was about one day per week all year where I didn’t read at all. I like reading, so I’d never force myself to do a hobby I already enjoy. I’m not great about reading every day during breaks. I’m on winter break now, and I won’t pick up a book for two or three days at a time, but I was in the mood to read last night and read 215 pages in on sitting to finish the books I was reading. It was great. I was in a reading slump in November and read maybe once or twice a week, but I never forced myself to read because I knew I’d hate doing it if I did.
//I Had A Designated Reading Time
When I commuted from home during my first two years of college, I’d read on the subway every day. I’d dedicate that hour specifically for reading, which helped me get back into reading for fun after stopping in high school. Even though I don’t take the subway anymore, I still take the campus bus to get from my dorm to main campus. This adds up to about 40 minutes per day on the bus. It may not seem like much, but reading a few pages every day adds up. This contributed a lot to my reading of physical books.
//I DNFed a LOT of Books
“DNF” means “did not finish” a book. I don’t give out a lot of bad reviews on Goodreads because I don’t finish books I don’t enjoy. If I get bored within the first 100 pages, I don’t see the point of continuing when there are other books I want to read more. If I had pressured myself to keep going, I would have finished those books really slowly and would have hit a reading slump. I was better off reading books I was loving and would finish quicker.
//I Read Multiple Books At Once
This is another thing that may not work for other people. I happen to love reading multiple books at once and always have at least two open. It’s usually one physical book and one audiobook. Truth be told, I generally have four books open at once. They all have to be different genres or mediums because I don’t like reading two similar genres at the same time. For example, right now I have a dystopian physical book open, a contemporary audiobook, and am probably going to start nonfiction soon. Sometimes, I have a comic book issue open on my phone. It all depends.
This helped me get through more books last year because I was always in the mood to read something. If I didn’t feel like reading a depressing book, I’d continue reading the romance I had already started or a graphic novel. When I only have one book open, I’m not always in the mood to read it, which is why I read others at the same time. This helped me finish on average two books a week because I would make progress on multiple books at once.
//I Used The Library & Overdrive
I used the library for the majority of the books I read this year. The reason this helped me read more is that there was always a deadline for reading a book. When I own a book, it takes me longer to read it because there isn’t a return date hanging over my head. Whenever I had audiobooks checked out through Overdrive, I only had two weeks to listen to them before they were automatically returned, which motivated me to finish them quicker. This helped me read a lot more books because I didn’t want to pay a fine or wait in a waiting list again to borrow the book.
//I Didn’t Limit Myself To Short Books
One thing I was worried about when I set this goal was that I would choose to read shorter books to complete my goal more easily. Many of the books I’ve enjoyed in the past were longer and I didn’t want to avoid reading them. Surprisingly, the opposite happened. I did read my fair share of short books (<200 pages) this year, but the majority of the books I read were on average longer than the ones I read in 2018. I read books faster when I enjoy them, so there were times where it would take me longer to read a 150-page book compared to an 800-page book. I was better off reading books that I actually liked, so I never forced myself to read short books in order to catch up to my Goodreads goal.
//I Read Popular Books
There were so many hyped books that flew passed my radar in high school that I finally got to this year. I had never been super into Booktube and the only book blogs I followed were the ones my friends wrote, but I started getting into it this year. The YouTuber that got me into it was Merphy Napier, and I’ve slowly started following other book-related YouTube channels (though not as much as Merphy’s).
When people talked about books they loved, I ordered them from the library immediately and read them. When there was a really popular movie, I read the novel it was based on. I read three popular dystopian series this year after being recommended them so many times (I stopped reading them a few years ago when the market got saturated with them) and loved them. There are books that are popular for a reason, which is why most of them ended up being really good.
//I Started Using GoodReads
2019 was the first year I actively used my GoodReads account. I created one years ago per my friends’ requests, but I never updated it. I never used to track my reading and when I first did it in 2018, I tracked it on paper. This year, I was very active on GoodReads. I’d keep track of what I was currently reading and the site kept a great list showing me how far I was on the goal and how many books I’d need to read per week or per month for the rest of the year to complete it. It really kept me motivated, plus it was fun seeing how my friends were doing on their reading goals.
//I Talked To People About Books
The best part about reading so many books: I had a lot of books to talk about. In fact, I made new friends in a class where our whole conversations started about books. Plus, most of my friends are book lovers, so even if they hadn’t read a lot this year, they still enjoyed talking about them. Especially the ones that they had read before and I was just getting into. Talking about books just made reading all the more fun because it could turn into a social activity.
//I Left Good Reviews
I didn’t realize this contributed to my love of reading this year until I read The Happiness Project. I can’t remember the exact quote, but she talked about how when we leave more critical views, we’re seen as smarter and when we leave mostly good reviews, we’re seen as easier to please. I get what she means. I have a friend, who writes the smartest book reviews I’ve ever read analyzing every point. It’s kind of scary. He’s really smart and his book reviews reflect that. I see the same thing when I watch movies with my brother. He enjoys everything, while I critique, which makes me look “smarter” since I’m being more analytical.
If you look at my GoodReads stats, you’ll see that I rarely rate a book below three stars. This is partly because I don’t finish books I don’t like, but it’s mostly because I don’t hyper analyze the books I read. I would eventually hate reading if I approached it that way, which is why I understood how “leave good reviews” was included as an action step in The Happiness Project. Your approach to things affects your mindset of them.
//I Reread Books I Already Love
Rereading is one of my favorite things to do. I double-checked and found that I reread 28 books this year. To me, there isn’t much point in owning a book if it’s just going to sit on a shelf for the rest of my life. Whenever I read an amazing book, I want to read it again the same way I rewatch my favorite movie or listen to my favorite songs on repeat. Plus, the more I reread books, the more I notice about them. I find little hints and clues I didn’t notice the first time. I love that!
(All the books I reread this year that counted towards my Goodreads goal were completely read. I didn’t count the rereads where I skipped around to revisit my favorite parts.)
//It Wasn’t My First Time Setting A Reading Goal
When I set my reading goal as 100 at the beginning of last year, it wasn’t an arbitrary or ideal number. It was something that I saw as a realistic thing to strive for. At the beginning of 2018, I set the goal of reading 12 new books that year because I was in a cycle of rereading old favorites over and over again. It was fun, but it stopped me from picking up new books. By the end of that year, I had read about 80 books.
Because I was able to do that, I knew it was possible for me to read a hundred books in a year. 100 didn’t feel like a discouraging number. When you set your reading goal for this year, don’t make it so large that it becomes an overwhelming task. Set it to a number that you can realistically achieve and will motivate you to enjoy a beloved hobby.
Wow, I just wrote 2,000 words. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve written longer posts, but I didn’t realize I had so much to say about my reading goal. I just wrote down a list of reasons in random order and started rambling. Anyway, I hope this post makes reading less daunting. I never thought I would be able to read this much in a year. Especially in college, but now I know it’s completely possible. I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone because reading so much made 2019 a much more fulfilling year. Until next time!
I’d Appreciate Your Support Of This Blog By Following Me On:
Do you have any book recommendations for me? What are your tips for reading more during busy seasons in life?