In January 2017 I challenged myself to read more books than the year before.

The goal was 52 books, a book for each week (it’s what the happier, healthier, more successful people are doing, you know). Oh my, how I failed so miserably… I later changed my goal to 30 books and I didn’t make that either.

This is not a failure post though. I still count 2017 as a year of really good reading. I read 27 books in total (so close!) and this was a whopping 70% increase from the year before. 70%! That’s a decent increase guys. And I read some epic books that now top my ‘all time favourites’ list. You can find a full list of books I read at my Goodreads here but I will be doing a post on my favourites in the near future.

I know why I failed though guys, and it wasn’t lack of determination or even lack of time to read (which is a real issue for a homeschool, work from home mom, I can tell you). It was that I didn’t prep for the reading year.

I have since learned a few tips and tricks and this year I am much better prepared! My goal is 50 books in 2018.

I’ll share what I have learned with you so that you too can read more books this year, no matter what your goal is.

1. Ensure there are an abundance of good books readily available in your home. You are more likely to start reading another book as soon as you finish one of you have a selection to choose from. This doesn’t mean you need to blog the budget! Dust off your library membership card and check out the used books stores. Last year I found some amazing used book sale groups for my area on Facebook.

2. Have a rough plan in mind of what you’ll be reading this year. If you plan ahead you can save plenty of time later on that would be spent on deciding what to read next. Draw up a list of however many books you want to read this year. Check out my reading challenge for inspiration. Chances are you already have a ‘list of books to read’ saved in your notes on your phone, am I right? ?

3. Carry your book around with you wherever you go. You never know where you’ll have 10 or 20 minutes to get through a few pages. I read a lot in the car when I’m not driving even if it’s just a 15 minute trip. It all adds up!

4. Have a few books going at the same time, that way you’ll always have something to suit your mood. Make sure they are different in theme and genre. I often have at least two non-fiction and a fiction book going at once, and I chop and change between the three as my moods change.

5. Track your reading. I do this on Goodreads and it’s so motivating to watch the list grow, it definitely kept me going last year. Check out the Goodreads challenge and commit to a number now if you like a bit of a challenge.

I am not confident enough to share my planned reading list, haha, but you can track my current reads over on Instagram and also on Goodreads. I am pretty good at updating (see point 5 above ? )

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