Reading lots of novels in a year can help you understand how the mind works, gain a broader perspective of events, feel empathy, improve your expertise, and increase your attention span.
Personally speaking, reading novels takes me to other realms. I get to experience new cultures and traditions, feel new things, learn more about human interactions, learn new words and, tactically understand the human species. Thanks to the vast number of novels I’ve read, I can say that I have a greater grasp of human actions and this, in turn, helps me briefly see the future.
Multiple times in the past few years, I have steadily topped a hundred books read on my Goodreads Challenge. Perhaps, you are here reading this article because you’d like to see how it is done. Here are ten personally recommended tips for you:
Plan
There are 52 weeks in a year, which means that you have to read at least two novels every week. This may sound daunting but note that novels are of different lengths, and some novels, despite their lengths, might be so enjoyable that you’ll marvel at the speed at which you finish them.
Allocate time
Reading a hundred novels in a year might seem impossible. You might ask yourself where you might find the time. When you examine your daily schedule, you’ll find that you spend time on some activities that can be turned into reading time. You can read a hundred novels in a year if you have the passion for doing so.
Track your progress
Keep a record of what and how much you read. Sites like Goodreads can help you do this. It will help you know what you’ve read and how many novels you have to read left.
Optimize your reading time
You should find out what works for you and optimize your reading. Read whenever you can. A lot of the reading that I do occurs when I have nothing much to do. It can be while I’m on the bus, before sleeping, when I’m eating, and so on. If you are always with a novel, then you’ll find yourself reading pages and completing chapters.
Read different genres
You have to enjoy reading, and a good way to do this is to develop an interest in different genres such as fantasy, mystery, thriller, classical, military, young adult, philosophy, poetry, memoir, humor, etc. You can also vary the level of novels that you read. If you have just finished reading a heavy or difficult novel, you can try something light next. Doing this will stop you from getting burned out.
Join a book club
Being part of a good club can keep you motivated. You can move further when you are in the midst of those who love what you do.
Read every single day
This is important. It is really important and, talking from experience, I can tell you that time flies. One day you are on track, and the next day you are four books behind schedule. Every day is vital and try to read in every one of them in a year.
Stop reading a novel if you don’t like it
Don’t waste your time on boring stuff or stuff you don’t understand or love at all. Move on! Novels that you do not find engaging are difficult to read and take more time to complete. Read novels that are interesting to you.
Always have a novel with you
Ebooks have been a blessing to my life. The convenience that they offer is astonishing. Just download an e-reader app, and you can read whenever you want.
Listen to audiobooks
I’ve never tried this before, but I’m sure that it’ll be a cool way to accomplish a lot in a little time. You can listen to them in diverse scenarios, and If I weren’t scared of the megabytes involved in their acquisition, I’d have started listening to audiobooks already. I’m going to start next year.
