Do you love to read but don’t think you have enough time? Here are four of my favorite strategies for getting in more reading time.
1. Audiobooks. This is my favorite way to catch up on those books that I’ve been meaning to read. Even during my busiest days, I find there are lots of times during the day that I find myself alone and wishing I could be doing something more productive: Cleaning the bathtub, organizing closets, waiting for soccer practice to end, taking the dog for a walk. Another bonus: I find that if I have something really juicy and suspenseful on my iPod, I will go for a longer run than I would otherwise (so my leg muscles – and my Labrador – both benefit.)
You can find free audiobooks at a variety of sources. Check your local library for books on CD or tape. Some libraries even have a way that you can download audiobooks via their website. (Typically, you can listen only for a specific period of time, because you are borrowing the audio and not purchasing it.)
You can also get select titles (both human-read and computer-read) free through Project Gutenberg as well as through LibriVox, where volunteers read chapters from public domain titles. (Do a quick google search for the URLs)
If you love audiobooks as much as I do, you’ll probably find that you save money in the long run by paying for a subscription to audible or simplyaudiobooks. You’ll pay a monthly fee (pricing depends on how many books you plan to download per month), but you save big over purchasing each title ala carte. You can also purchase audiobooks individually through audible, as well as through a variety of channels online, including iTunes and eMediaExpress.
2. Get a Kindle. Oh, the Kindle wireless reading device is a beautiful thing. Lighter than a paperback, thin as a magazine, and it holds some 1500 books. The new version, Kindle 2.0, will even read to you. It’s kind of expensive ($359 at this time), but it’s fabulous – so if you read a lot, it might well be worth it.
3. Subscribe to PhilosophersNotes. If you love self-development titles but don’t have a lot of time, give Philosopher’s Notes a try. Creator Brian Johnson artfully distills his favorite and most life-changing books to a 6 page PDF and a 20 minute mp3 recording. At the time of this writing, you can get 52 notes (includes both the PDFs and mp3s) for $20, but Johnson is adding new notes all the time, so these details are subject to change. I find that these are great to listen to again and again.
4. Stash books everywhere. I have a book in my glovebox, and another by my bedside. I have a book near my stove and another near the couch. Some books are good enough that I take them everywhere. Others, I keep where I will enjoy them most. For example, I can’t read Harry Potter right before bed or I end up dreaming about basilisks and Severus Snape, so I keep that where I can sneak in a few moments of reading during the day and keep something dreamy and inspirational by my bedside.
I hope you find lots of extra time to read the world’s wonderful books.
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