Last week we kicked off the conversation of “how to read more books”. You can peep the entire article here.
Today, I’m continuing on with more of my tried-and-true tips that have ensured I make reading an integral part of my life. Hopefully they’ll help bring more wonderful books into your life, too!
Join A Book Club
Book clubs are fabulous ways to hold yourself accountable to reading more books. But not only are they great for reading—more importantly—book clubs are great for creating community. Most book clubs meet on a regular basis, and there’s lots of research that says one of the best ways to form good friendships as adults is the consistency of hanging out with people. I’ve certainly found this to be true!
Whether you join an existing group, form your own group, or even just grab a friend or family member and commit to reading and discussing books together on a regular basis, it all works wonders!
I’m currently in two book groups which I started: one has been meeting monthly for EIGHT years, and is a wonderful group of women from NYC who get together to discuss books set in NYC. The other meets monthly and is virtual (we’ve been going for 1.5 years!), and is the Hygge Yoga Book Club (hi, members!) We discuss books on the topics of happiness, holistic health, and (of course!) hygge! If you’re interested in becoming a member of the latter, you can grab access right here!
Both of these book clubs have been pure moments of joy in my life—no matter what is going on, I know I have my little communities to come together with each month to discuss books and life.
Keep A Running Record Of Books You Read
There are so many formats to do this with. If you’re a digital person, Goodreads may be the perfect spot for you! If you tend to err on the side of loving pen-to-paper, try a reading journal! I have tried both, but find I am much more consistent with the latter.
What I particularly love about this is I have a column in the journal labeled “Recommend”, and I write whether I would recommend the book or not. I also have a column for “Genre”, and this way if a friend asks what books I would recommend in the “Mystery Genre”, I can easily list my favorites.
Speaking of favorites, I also put a little heart next to books I absolutely LOVED. As much as you would like to think you remember everything you read, I find it’s easy to get a bit blurry on books as the years go by, so this way I remember which ones REALLY stood out, and it’s easier for me to find more books of a similar makeup. Here’s a little snapshot of my reading journal:
Take A Deep Dive Into Something That Interests You
If you just finished an Agatha Christie mystery and couldn’t put it down, why not take a deep dive into all of her writing? There’s a good chance that if you loved one, you’ll love all (or at least, many!) Or if you binged Downton Abbey on Netflix and couldn’t stop watching, try reading books about or from that era. Maybe there’s a particular historical figure you feel really drawn to, and reading books about him/her could be a fantastic rabbit hole to go down!
Not only will your reading grow, but you’ll also slowly find yourself becoming a minor expert on something—which makes for great dinner party conversation! Plus, it’s just so personally fulfilling.
I hope this further inspired you to jump into a book! If so, what book are you currently reading? Respond to this newsletter or leave them in the comments below!
A Little Something Holistic Health
Stretching is one of my favorite parts of yoga. Sure, it’s all one giant stretch in theory, but there’s something to be said about a yoga class that is focused on JUST stretching—no vinyasa flows to be seen.
I recently came across this beautiful stretching class, and I love it because: there’s NO words or instruction, just music and movement. Also, it’s 30 minutes, which is enough of a stretch to REALLY feel looser after, but not so much you feel boredom creeping in. On days when I’m not feeling an entire yoga flow, I’ve been turning to this sequence and feeling super nourished afterwards.
A Cozy Quote To Leave You With
“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” —Sam Keen