So many books
I’ve been reading quite a lot this year (as I did on 2016). I usually start strong and then slip out in summer and catch up on the last months of the year.
I have to force myself to read because I would rather browse endlessly without any purpose. But when I start I can’t stop, it’s quite common for me to have to set up deadlines at night at 1 or 2 AM if the book is really interesting.
There are some things they work for me, like:
- Following a book club. The Agile Madrid book club reads a book every 1 or 2 months about agile, software or management and that public compromise means that, since it started, I’ve read 7 or 8 books I would have read otherwise (or it would have taken me several years to do it). Public compromises work well with my brain.
- Setting an objective in Goodreads works wonders with me. That’s the main reason why I read so many books in 2016 or I have started strong this year. Just seeing the objective several times a week energizes me a lot and teases me to start a new book. It didn’t work last year because I didn’t start with a good rhythm but it did in 2016 and this year.
- Following friends in Goodreads and seeing what they have read, finished or want to read it also helps me a lot. It serves 2 purposes, the first one being a source of recommendations and books to check out. The second one is teasing me with their progress and motivating me to read more.
- One thing I’ve started to do this year is having a book on the PC and the mobile phone, to read when I’m tired or I have some spare minutes. For example, I usually read 5 minutes while I queue for some food, instead of checking twitter or facebook.
- I also have some alternatives if I get tired reading a technical book or a serious book, like some comics or some manga series… I’m usually reading 3 or 4 books at the same time, one technical and one or two fiction books.
- Starting works really well :P. I’m usually with the computer on weekends reading twitter or doing nothing at all… I’m reading a book or a manga now instead.
And I also have bad habits like always finishing the book even if I despise it or having to end a book series that I’ve started. Don’t do this.
Happy reading!
