How to Read 10 Books Every Month And Have Fun
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We’ve all heard that reading is one of the best activities you can do to improve your intellect, wisdom, maturity, leadership, and many other characteristics. But if we’re honest, reading, especially voracious reading, is a hard habit to form because we’ve grown so accustomed to a wide variety of distractions and interruptions in our daily lives.
Reading at any level is helpful, so if you are just looking at jumping into reading a few books a year, keep pressing on. Finishing 6 books throughout the course of a year is an accomplishment! Those books represent a decent block of time you spend investing in yourself.
However, if you are already on the reading train and have been working to increase your reading breadth or depth, this article has some tips and tricks for how you can do that. If you’ve hit the ceiling of reading 24 or so books each year, this will help you break through that and exceed your wildest imaginations.
This is what happened to me. In 2017, I read 24 books. In 2018, I got through 44. Then in 2019, I started applying some of these tips and cranked out 109 books. This year, I’ve already gotten through 50 books while I’m currently reading 4 more.
Anyone can do these tips. None of the tips are specific to any type of person. All it takes is a little planning and a little more specific, intentional effort.
Not 3 Days Per Book
I wanted to start here because reading 10 books a month requires a major mind shift. When people set off to read 10 books a month, they naturally break down the # of books with the numbers of days to determine that to reach their goal, they’re going to have to start and finish a new book every three days.
While this math works out, the pressure that comes with putting a 3 day-limit per book isn’t worth it. You want to be able to enjoy what you’re reading, not always feel under the gun of not being able to finish your book(s) in time.
Instead of mapping out your month by creating deadlines every three-days, zoom out and put more focus on hitting your goal over the course of the month.
This gives you the freedom to have weeks that are better reading weeks than others. You may spend one week getting through the bulk of a few books and then the following week you may finish 4 books before that Friday.
Non-fiction in the Morning. Fiction in the Evening.
To get through 10 books, I’d recommend reading multiple books at one time. I know there’s some pushback to this and that some people are reading purists (I use to be one of those people!).
Most people don’t like multi-book reading because they are nervous about keeping up with multiple storylines or about starting more books than they are able to finish. I like keeping 2 books going at all times and if you split the types of books you’re reading, the storylines won’t overlap as much.
The easiest way to do this is to pick up 1 fiction and 1 non-fiction book to overlap.
For most people, their brains are sharpest in the morning after they have sufficiently woken up. That’s why I recommend putting your non-fiction reading section in the morning before your working hours. If you are able to carve out 15-30 minutes, you’ll be surprised by how much you’ll be able to get through if you’re consistent.
If you keep non-fiction in the morning, that allows you to pick up your fiction book in the afternoon/evening depending on your schedule. The evening hours are often a bit easier to stretch if you get caught up in the story of a really great fiction book.
Stay in the Story. If You’re Hooked, You’re Hooked.
The best and most magical moments of reading come when you are hooked and there is almost a physical tension to putting a book down.
In order to get through 10 books, you’ll need to have a schedule and you’ll have to be intentional, but — if you’re hooked, stay hooked. That joy and that momentum will really carry you through your month and will actually carry you through your next book as well.
Reading is supposed to be fun so when you’re having fun, keep going.
Go Broad in Your Reading Topics.
I think people often get tired of reading because they find themselves reading the same thing. If you’re a leadership guru and you only ever read business and leadership focused books, by the 8th book you’re in danger of finding yourself eyes glazed over and barely retaining what you’re learning.
In order to keep your interest, go broad in what you're reading. Unless you are in a great and captivating series that is multiple books long, bounce back and forth between topics, genres, and even styles of writing. For me, even if I am in a great series, I like to pause between books and pick up something else just to keep my interest piqued and alive.
Going broad may mean that you read a book or a topic you don’t end up liking. Instead of seeing that as a waste of time, choose to look at it as an experiment in finding the topics or styles that you really do love.
There are millions of books in the world so don’t sell yourself short by picking only one very limited direction of reading.
Take Rest Days Where You Don’t Read Anything.
I know what you’re thinking, “Jake, if I’m going to read 10 books in one month (which is crazy!), I can’t afford to take any days off!” I’m here to say that I get it, but that line of thinking is still wrong.
Here’s the deal. You need rest and your brain needs a break. Reading exercises your brain like you’d exercise your muscles and no one recommends that you go the gym 7 days a week nonstop. You need rest. You need time for recovery.
If you take one day off from reading a week, you’ll be shocked at how much your reading productivity skyrockets on the other days.
Start with 5
If you’re still feeling nervous about trying to bite off 10 books in one month, go ahead and start with trying to read 5 while practicing all of the above techniques. That’s how I started and that’s what helped me realize I could read more.
In January 2019, a friend and I decided we wanted to try to read 5 books within that month. I was nervous going into it thinking that meant I had to finish 1 book every 6 days, a pace I had never kept before.
By the end of the month, to my amazement, I finished 8 books. That propelled me into the next month and I started experimenting with different techniques and habits that could help not only increase my reading but that would also keep it enjoyable.
Because that’s the goal. Reading should be fun. It should be better than eating your vegetables. Reading can lift you up, break you down, take you all over the world. It can be a blast, so why not aim to do more of it?