How to build Reading Habit?

 

Pick the right book at the right time.

The main reason why people hate reading books is that they chose the wrong books at the wrong time. The thing is that maybe when you bought a book or selected a book you were not in a state to read that particular genre or that particular thing. It happens with everyone. There are lots of books which I have not completed after starting them. Instead of giving up after that one incident of finding a book boring or uninteresting, find something which you are interested in and read that.

 

How to pick the right book?

Picking the right book is not an easy job and it really depends on your current situation, your interests and your passions. I follow these methods while picking a book.

Firstly, I read something which would answer my question which had been bothering me for a long time. I would read a book that would help me solve my problems and become a better person.

Secondly, I would read something which is in harmony with my passion and interests. If I am curious about businesses, entrepreneurship, innovation and marketing, I would pick a book where I can find all these elements or a few of these elements.

Thirdly, don't read the same genre again and again and rather diversify your books. I usually follow this method where I pick books from diverse genres like Autobiography, Biography, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Self Help Books, Books on Behavioural Economics, Books on Finance, Books on Marketing,...

I am not attached to one particular genre and I read happily all sorts of books and I believe the more diverse your reading is more you learn things and also it keeps you interested in reading in long run.

 

Physical Books V/S Digital Books

I prefer reading the digital book on my Kindle right now. First it saves a lot of physical space, it saves me a lot of money in the long run since I don't buy any e-book. It does not affect my eyesight and it is very comfortable in holding as it is light-weight and has an in-built dictionary which saves my time.

I am also a fan of physical books but I don't prefer buying them because of one reason that a lot of books which I bought, I have never finished them or even read them. But when I read digital books I don't know how but I can better decisions.

 

How to start reading if you are a beginner?

If you are a beginner then the best way is to pick books which are in sync with your goals or passion.

When I started reading last year, I picked some books like Shoe Dog, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Richest Man in Babylon. One thing common in all these books was that I kept on reading these books unless they were over and completed most of them in a day. There are a few books which take a long time as well. Now, in beginning choose the books above mentioned if they are related to your interest or pick some fictional books like Dan Brown, The Alchemist, Kite Runner, etc.  Now you would ask me why fictional books in the beginning. The reason is that the above mentioned fictional books have also been able to attract me until I completed them.

 

Is Vocabulary really something that matters?

I believe that looking up words hinders your reading and I generally avoid looking up words unless I have a Kindle because it disturbs my flow. If you are reading regularly then your vocabulary would improve automatically and there's a book called Word Power Made Easy by Norman Louis which is not some memorizing book but rather is based on root words and talks about the origin of words. This book is very interesting and I really enjoy reading it and it is filled with humour and good examples and descriptions about words. Also, it has various exercises as well to make sure we remember these words. There are around 70 sessions in this book and you can easily complete this book in a month or even less time but the result after reading this book would be very significant.

 

Pratik Kadel