How to be a super reader
A FEW super-readers, who routinely finish hundreds of books a year, shared their habits, goals and tips.
PAUL SCOTT – Retired in Los Altos, California.
Goal for 2024: 400 books. Last year, I did 388. The year before, I did 350. So, I’ll just see if it’s possible to do 400.
I say, half-joking, that it makes up for a bad public school education. I will go down a rabbit hole on an issue that I “learnt about”. I read about the Dust Bowl in school, it was like one paragraph. So, I started with a fictional book, then non-fiction book. That led me to read about soil conservation, and that led me to read about prairies.
How he does it: People say to me:
“Are you playing a lot more golf since you retired?” But now that I can play golf every day, what I’d rather do is read. The pandemic crystallised how I wanted to spend my spare time. There was nothing on TV.
I’d say about 350 to 400 pages a day is what I can do. Yesterday, I read a book that was about 600 pages, partially because I wanted to finish it. I didn’t want to waste any more time with it. I usually get three to four good hours in the morning, and then I get a couple of hours in the afternoon or early evening.
You have to say to yourself: “This time of the day is sacrosanct.”
Pro tip: Invest time on the front end to gain momentum. If you really want to read a book, you’ve got to get into the first 100 pages, 200 pages. If you can’t, you’ll find reading is really hard. If I can get a big chunk of a book started, it’s much easier for me to finish it quickly.
ALLISON WACK – Veterinarian in Frederick, Maryland.
Reads about 300 books a year.
How she does it: I mostly read audiobooks. I’ll sneak in a paper book once in a while, but I just don’t sit very much. I’m always running around, especially with two young kids. I also do a lot of volunteering for the Girl Scouts. I pretty much have my headset on all the time when I’m around my house, doing chores or making dinner. In an hour, I can get through three hours of a book. I listen to everything on 3x. Don’t be intimidated by going fast! You can get there.
Pro-tip: See if your library has agreements with others in your region, allowing you to borrow from their collections, too.
Goal for 2024: At least 300 books.
VIVIAN TAYLOR – Book blogger in Charleston, West Virginia.
Reads 365 books a year.
I’m in awe of people who have full-time jobs, who have children, or they’re married or in a serious relationship and they’ve got all the responsibilities related to that. And they find time to read! Those people, to me, are more astonishing.
How she does it: I moved back to West Virginia to take care of my ageing parents in 2008. Initially, my annual goal was 200 or 250. I was getting up usually around 6am, then I’d read for about an hour before getting my dad out of bed. After I dropped him off at dialysis, I had two, three hours when I could read. Once back home, I had the rest of the day that I could devote to reading from 6 to about 11 or 12pm.
For me, it’s not only a great escape, it’s my self-care. My self-care is expanding my home library and reading books.
Goal for 2024: 365 books. Every year the only resolution I make is, “This is going to be the year where I don’t reread a lot of favourite books.” And I never make it past the second week of January.
Picking up those books is like meeting old friends all over again.
OLIVIA AMBROGIO – Science communications trainer in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Reads about 200 books a year.
How she does it: I do a mixture of paper and e-reader. I don’t really do audiobooks because I get very impatient with them. I just think the whole time, “I could be reading this faster”.
Pro tip: Take advantage of wait time, no matter how small. I’ll read whenever I have time and whenever I’m not around others, like when I’m eating breakfast. I mostly telework these days, but if I’m using public transport, I’ll read then; while waiting for something to boil; if it’s my night to sit with my daughter, and she’s falling asleep. Little intervals of time.
Goal for 2024: 203 books. It’s more or less what I would read in a year. If I were to do 250 to 300, it would be a real challenge that I would have to strategise for. | The Washington Post