How I Read 52 Books in a Year
Ready to read 52 books in the next 52 weeks? Yes?!? Alrighty.
Let's begin with two more compelling reasons for why you should read 52 books in a year.
Numero Uno: You'll develop more interesting and deeper connections. One of my favorite things about this challenge was meeting others who shared my love of books. As I searched for good stories I made new friends and connected more deeply with existing relationships. My favorite question now is, "What's your favorite book and why?" The answers are sometimes surprising and always enlightening.
And Deux: Reading 52 books in a year is a big but achievable goal. While this challenge is not tiny it's fairly achievable if you work at it consistently. You just have to keep reading. For me, reaching a goal that stretched over a year built confidence. Consistent effort demonstrated that I also had the willpower and focus to reach important goals in my business. I learned that I really was able to let go of short-term gratification for something that was more meaningful.
I know you can do it too.
So let's talk about how YOU can read 52 books in a year.
Don't wait for the New Year
I'm not really a New Year's resolutions kind of gal. I often get inspired to take on a new challenge like meditating daily or reading 52 books in a year on some random Tuesday night in September. Remembering what Tara told me about the Reading Challenge on GoodReads I almost waited for the year to flip. Honestly I was afraid I'd chicken out if I didn't start that minute. And so I began. Like most things there isn't a perfect moment. Don't wait for the New Year to make the resolution to begin changing your life today. Stop waiting. Start today.
Do it one book at a time
When you begin your quest that number -- 52 -- is pretty daunting. Use Anne Lamott's wise advice from Bird by Bird to help you get started. Focusing only on the next book allows you to succumb to its secret world and enjoy it more. And when you have your face stuffed in the words you'll stop worrying about your goal and begin to truly enjoy the process. This challenge is also much easier when reading only one book at time. For someone who used to have 4 books going at once, this was a difficult but important new habit to form. My mantra? This moment, this book.
Don't shout about it from the skyscrapers
I used to be a executive coach. During my training we were taught that we needed to "claim" a goal that we were going to achieve. The idea was that by loudly proclaiming it you made yourself accountable for acheiving your goal. But for me shouting out something I wanted to achieve felt strange. I hadn't done it yet. What if it wasn't the right goal? What if I changed my mind for something even better? It turns out there's something to my concerns. In this short little Ted talk, Derek Sivers explains that sharing your goals fools your brain into thinking that you've already done, which means you're less likely to actually go through with it.
I told a few close friends but otherwise kept my mouth shut even to the librarians who saw me every week. It was only at 4 books and 9 weeks to go that I felt confident to share my goal more widely. Even then, I was loathe to talk about it much and definitely didn't blog about it.
Change your reading habits
My dear friend Tara encouraged me to vary what I read in order to be successful. This was the best piece of advice I received. She gave me permission to read what made me happy rather than trying to be a book snob by reading intellectually challenging or epic books. Tara's may have been the best piece of reading advice I received. My advice? Don't pick long reads like Shanatram (944 pages!) when doing a 52 books in a year challenge. If you do pick one longer book be sure to offset it with shorter, easier reads.
Don't slog through a book just because of sunk reading cost
If a book isn't giving you that reading mojo, drop it. There's no sense in giving yourself brain damage if you're not into a book. If you find yourself yelling at the book or rereading a sentence over and over again just say "I'm not that into you" drop it and find a new one that you are into.
Get on GoodReads
This is the best way to track what you want to read as well as what you've read. The last 2 years GoodReads has sponsored a Reading Challenge. While not everyone challenges themselves to read 52 books, it's a great way to discover good books and find camaraderie in your challenge. Although my challenge was spread over two calendar years I was still able to use their system to help me track my progress. Come look me up on GoodReads. You can find me under um, my name. I can't wait to see what you read. And? What you learn.