TMD Book Review’s tips for getting and staying into reading
Reading is a chore. Typically, it reminds us of long nights spent speed-reading some boring research article for a random lecture, or takes us back to high school English classes ridden with mind-numbing books we were obligated to finish if we wanted to secure a passing grade. Rarely is reading associated with pleasure and fun… unless you write for The Michigan Daily Book Review! As book reviewers, we are determined to reframe the common (and rather negative) narrative that plagues the underappreciated art of reading. In the spirit of that mission, here are our tips and tricks for getting — and staying — into reading.
— Senior Arts Editor Graciela Batlle Cestero and Books Beat Editor Camille Nagy
Read as a study break!
My proposal: Start reading as a study break. Reading is one of the best ways to relax, take your mind off your assignments and reset before starting your next task. Moreover, most novels are broken into digestible chapters, making it easier to limit yourself instead of accidentally scrolling away an hour of your day (don’t worry, we’ve all been there). If this sounds intimidating, find a book you know will be easy and fun to read. There’s nothing wrong with reading a fun celebrity memoir like Britney Spears’ “The Woman in Me” (loved it) or even a comedy like “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (actually laughed out loud). Reading in between assignments also allows you to take baby steps, breaking books up into chapters or even pages. I started reading as a study break this year to try and squeeze some reading into my day, and I just love it. Not only do I read more, I’m also more productive and take shorter breaks overall. Sometimes, if I find a book I like enough, I actually finish my assignments faster because I can’t wait to read more!
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Daily Arts Writer Claire Rock can be reached at [email protected].
Think of reading as replacing a bad habit!
If you’re anything like me, putting time and energy into focusing on a book can be really taxing. Spending your free time on apps like TikTok is really tempting, but it also might be ruining your attention span for everything else — including reading. In an age of almost constant digital media, it’s hard to step away from our dependency on our phones, but if you want to get into reading, you’re going to have to put your phone down. Finding a way to prioritize reading will look different from person to person. For me, it means deleting social media altogether to shift my focus to less overstimulating forms of entertainment. It could even be as simple as replacing your screen time at the end of the night with a book before bed. Getting your attention span back won’t come after one day of reading, so making reading a habit will help you build back that muscle. Carving out even 10 minutes a day for you and a book can help you get this attention span back one step at a time, ensuring that, eventually, you will jump to read your book instead of going on your phone.
Daily Arts Writer Logan Brown can be reached at [email protected].
Or … make reading your only option for joy!
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Hear me out — if you feel like your attention span is going downhill and your to-be-read list is spinning out of control, it might be time for more drastic measures. At the beginning of the year, I ran an experiment in which I deleted everything off my phone except for an e-reader, meaning every form of stimulation I had during that time was book-related. It wasn’t an easy transition, but after a few days I felt that my dopamine-hungry brain had calmed enough to stop craving the endless social media scroll. It’s also a great trick to fit reading into a busy schedule; you might not have time to sit down for an uninterrupted hour of reading, but you might be able to find an hour of time waiting at the bus stop, in line, in the car, or procrastinating other essential tasks. When reading is your only distraction, you’ll begin craving books in the same way you crave social media, which is a pretty magical thing. Even if you can’t stick with it entirely, wasting time reading is always better than wasting time on Instagram.
Daily Arts Writer Grace Sielinski can be reached at [email protected].
Make an event out of reading!
I’ve found that scheduling time for just reading doesn’t really work for me. It often starts to feel like homework or a chore. What does work for me, however, is finding a fun way to get started on a new book. Whether that means enjoying my first seasonal cup of hot cocoa or trying something I’ve always seen in shows and movies but never dared to believe was possible (such as reading in the bathtub), I try to make reading exciting. Finding a cozy place to do these things, especially somewhere where there’s not much else to do but read, always helps me jumpstart the habit again. So try finding a place in the Arb to sit down with a book before the weather starts to turn. Try out a new coffee shop or hunt down a study spot you’ve been meaning to camp out. And DON’T BRING YOUR LAPTOP. When I find myself trapped in a cycle where I am physically unable to pick up a book, tricking myself into biting the bullet with a new outing or fun accompanying beverage is one of my better tactics.
Daily Arts Writer Cora Rolfes can be reached at [email protected].
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Interchange fiction and nonfiction books!
After a long semester of barely being able to finish a single book, I promised myself that I would capitalize on the free time that comes with summer to get back on track with my yearly reading goal. This summer, I decided that I wanted to really dive deep into my seemingly endless to-be-read list while also reading as much as humanly possible. As a result, I decided to begin interweaving books of different genres — specifically, fiction and nonfiction books. I sat down in front of the overflowing bookshelf in my childhood bedroom and selected all the books I wanted to read. I then organized them in a way that would have me read a nonfiction book before allowing me to “reward” myself with fiction. This tactic proved to be extremely fruitful, leading me to read a whopping 18 books over the summer. Take my word for it, interchanging the genres you read will not only help you cultivate a consistent reading habit, but will also help you become extremely well-read.
Senior Arts Editor Graciela Batlle Cestero can be reached at [email protected].
Listen to audiobooks!
Without audiobooks, I’m not sure I would have survived this semester, let alone read a single book for fun. My best — and possibly only — tip for someone looking to get into reading this year, who maybe doesn’t have the time to sit down and carve out dedicated time to do so, is to try reading by listening. While there have been debates in the past over whether listening to audiobooks counts as “real” reading, I’m here to tell you that it unequivocally does. And not just that — it’s also one of the best ways to squeeze reading into moments you normally wouldn’t be able to. Walking to class? Folding your laundry? Getting a quick late-night workout in? The answer is right there: Pop on some headphones, and you’re ready to read.
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Books Beat Editor Camille Nagy can be reached at [email protected].
Stop reading books you don’t actually like!
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t challenge yourself as a reader — I used to hate classics, but now I find them to be the most substantive, soul-satisfying reads. Getting out of your comfort zone is always a good idea. But that being said, if you’re actually here looking for tips, my guess is that you could use a confidence booster, not a beatdown. When’s the last time you read a book cover-to-cover in under a week? Trust me — that’ll get you going. Pick something short, fun and captivating. That can mean a lot of different things depending on the type of person you are, but here are a couple of my go-to recommendations for universal page-turners. Spend a couple hours blazing through a fast-paced book, and you’ll start to remember why reading is fun!
Daily Arts Writer Pauline Kim can be reached at [email protected].
Cut yourself some slack!
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Reading can be hard and time-consuming, and sometimes you’re not going to be able to fit in the pages that you thought you would on a specific day or week or month or year. Sometimes, you’ll find yourself looking back and wondering where the hours that you told yourself you’d carve out to read went and you’ll feel bad about it — like you can’t even follow through on something as simple as reading a chapter out of a book now and then. When that happens, cut yourself some slack — we’re all works in progress. You absolutely should be reading, no doubt about it. But sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and the more you beat yourself up over not being able to dive into a book and stay engaged for hours, the worse you’ll feel when that doesn’t happen.
Daily Arts Contributor Ethan Rogers can be reached at [email protected].
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