When lockdown started last year there was a seemingly endless expanse of time that I somehow had to fill. For a while there was uni work to be getting on with but once that had finished, I was at a loss at what to do with my days. It was here that I decided to get back into my childhood love of reading.
Since it’d been a few years without me touching a novel, I decided to research what books people consider to be ‘must reads’. A few days later, and my purse feeling a little lighter, I received a delivery of various books and began reading.. I personally found classics such as Frankenstein and Little Women a great place to start -they’re classics for a reason, right? But I have also really enjoyed reading a collection of contemporary pieces by Erin Morgenstern and Colson Whitehead too. Reading fiction has helped me to keep entertained throughout the past year, and I love the ability to travel all around the world, especially when I couldn’t leave the house! If reading isn’t your thing, audiobooks are the perfect way to connect with literature. A lot of the classics have free audiobooks uploaded to YouTube which are definitely worth checking out and Audible have a good range of more modern pieces with fantastic narrators such as Jodie Comer, Stephen Fry and Reni Eddo-Lodge.
I found that setting a reading goal helped to motivate me and encouraged me to pick up a book rather than watch a film or another episode of a TV show . Last year I managed to read 57 books and, although my goal was 60, I enjoyed reading the books so much that I didn’t mind not hitting my goal. This year I want to keep reading and I’ve set a goal of reading 50 books.
Setting goals can seem like the perfect way to start a new habit or pick up a new one, but if you don’t keep track of them, it can be easy to just give up. I use Goodreads to help keep a track of what I’m reading and how much I’m enjoying it. A few of my friends also have accounts and I love seeing what they’ve been reading and what they think. I’ve greatly enjoyed the conversations it’s brought about, changing the topic from lockdown loathes to literary loves. I’ve also tried out a new platform called The StoryGraph which gives you a great insight into your reading habits and preferences. This platform is still in the early stages of development and so I have stuck to my Goodreads account, although it is really simple to transfer your Goodreads portfolio across to The StoryGraph, if you prefer their stats and setup. Another way I like to keep track of how much I have read is simply in a notebook, where I can have a tangible list of all the books I’ve read without the need to log in anywhere.
Goal setting can also be a great way to gain some motivation and have something to work towards. Setting goals when it comes to reading isn’t about reading as many books as you possibly can but instead challenging yourself to take time out to read; whether that means reading a page in your break from revision or going to bed a little bit earlier with a book. There are so many wonderful books out there from fantasy novels to poetry, the classics to eye opening non-fiction books. Lockdown is draining in so many ways that I encourage you not to feel as though you absolutely have to meet your goals. Let them serve as a motivation for you to take some time out, to relax, to immerse yourself in an adventure tale or sci-fi saga. Whatever you enjoy reading, let it be an escape from this exhausting and scary reality.
