Hello everyone. Welcome to the What to Read Next Podcast, a podcast that topples your TBR today, I'm talking about 10 tips to help you read more this year. I know we're like almost summertime, but you know what? It's never too late to start reading more. I know it's looking for ways to improve that. I have to tell you, this year has been interesting about my reading life because. I've been struggling. In some ways it's been nice to listen to audiobooks and I'll talk about that tip, but the reality is that I haven't picked up my Kindle after 2000 and something days of reading every single day for at least 15 minutes, I stop my Kindle reading. And it's been liberating in some ways because for a while it's family. It's felt like a chore and it felt like it's something that I had to do and it wasn't giving me the amount of joy that I did. I really have been struggling with ever since the elections. It's been really terrible time to be, I've been doom scrolling. I've been just. So anxious and just not feeling myself. And so it's been hard to escape from the reality. It's been hard to escape to romances where things are great. So I've been actually reading a lot of mysteries, a lot of you know, people, Aren, liveing themselves and all these different things. And just having this like thrillers, popcorn, thriller, domestic suspense, closing mysteries, Mr. Romcoms to have some sort of another bloody part because the Romans doesn't feel like it's just a right time. And that's just where I am. I've been reading, I did, I have been reading some mafia moments because you know what? Sometimes we just need morally great heroes and that they'll do the thing that they you don't wanna do. So morally great heroes have been great, but for the most part, romcoms has just been a struggle. So let's get to the 10 tips to help you read more this year. Let's talk about the first tip. The first tip is to set realistic reading goals. So you wanna start small. You start aim instead of aiming for 50, a hundred, 300 a book a day. Just aim for a manageable, like one book a month or a couple books a month, or just one book a week, and just do something that's manageable. I think it's important. Just keep them simple and just do them. And if you need that goal. Early in year, then you just off it off. But you don't have to start with a big goal. I think of for if you listened to the previous episodes where I'm linking to this episode. If you listen to previous episodes where I share my reading goals, I was like gung-ho that I can get to read a book a day that I need to actually consume as much possible because I had like a lot of books to read and I have a Huget VR options and. It just became too overwhelming. So I really continued to fail and every year I read less and less. And so I have to take into account the life happens, that things happen, whether it's outside of my control or like personal issues, and that may take. Time away from reading. And so it is okay to read less And success realistic goals is a big one. Start small. Start with one book a week or one book a month, and then you just build that out. Build a sta up from there. If you have a great reading month, celebrate that, but if you don't, that's okay too. You're still on your track to do it. The other, the next tip that I wanna share is to create a daily reading routine. So for a while I would, I had the 50 minute reading routine in my Kindle. So basically I would read in my Kindle for 50 minutes and I'll track it as a Kindle Day streak. And I was very proud of that. And where I was like, I had 2000 days I read, I mean, I have read 2000 bucks. But I was reading consistently for 15 minutes. And so creating a daily routine may mean to wake up in the morning and reading for 10, 15 minutes, or it might just mean listening to the audiobook while you're driving, you know, to the commute and having those spaces. Right now, one of the areas where I'm loving because I just got a car, is listening to audiobooks. Listen to my Audible library off audio books. Because they're connected to my phone and it's just been lovely just to catch up with a lot of kinda limited, a lot of books I bought on sale and it's just been fun just to do that. So having something to look forward, not just driving, but just having this place where like I get to listen to my book, I get to listen to this funny romance in the car. It feels like fine. So set a, create a daily reading routine will be. Key to help you grow, figure out what works for you, figure out if it's in morning, nighttime before go to bed. I also listen to audiobooks before going to bed. I listen to mysteries, cozy mysteries actually which are not so triggering and they don't have don't great nightmares. They create kind of like pleasantries 'cause you're just like imagining yourself and they little cute little cozy room, cozy stuff. So what I do is I put the audiobook. Etc. For a time or 15 to 30 minutes depending on how much I fall asleep. And then I just fall asleep listening to it. And a lot of times 'cause you mysteries, you don't really miss the plot. So it is not a big deal. If you miss something, there's no clues, like there really are no clues and stuff like that. You're just surprised. So create a daily reading routine for you that will work. Think about it. Take stock of your time. Take stock of your energy. Take stock of what will give you joy and do that. And you'll be able to read consistently. All right, tip number three is always carry a book. So I carry my book I care. I actually dis, I used to do this all the time and I did this when I was a child. Back in the nineties. My parents used to travel a lot whether it's to New York to buy merchandise or to Disney World to just enjoy like different things. And I was like, I always look forward to going traveling to the US because I get to go to and stock above my. Books because the bookstores in Puerto Rico were, they were available, they had some teen books, but a lot of it was Street Valley High and specific like major popular lines for teenagers. But I wanted to listen to read some of the niche ones, like the love stories, the re McDaniels, all the stuff that is hidden in the nineties. And so I used to look forward to just drawing a bunch of books and always carrying the book. So I was known to be in Disney World in a line and reading my book. That was more entertainment and I continued to do this over time. I used to read in the subway and it was like a fun way to connect with other people, even though we don't talk to each other in the subway. It was like great to get recommendations. So reading in the subway and then after that, after the Kindle was available, I actually started reading on my phone when I was working at a job that I needed to pretend that I was working. So I was reading on my phone and then I upgraded to Kindle on paper right at a time and it was great. And always, ever since then I've been carrying a book. I always miss the book and so places where I carry either bring my iPad and have my audiobooks available, so I put my audio stuff, or you can have on your phone and you have audio books available, or you can have a Kindle. You can read like a couple pages in there. All this little reading, it always adds up. So carry a book with you, it makes it much more enjoyable. I also now love going shopping and listening to my audiobook. Like I went to Costco this past weekend and I went on a Saturday morning, which, you know, it's you know, it's crowded and it was like such a pleasant experience listening to my mafia romance that was so engaged, like the book was so good. And I was like, I can't stop watching. Stop listening to this and while I was shopping. So it's always great to be able to listen to a book. So if you have an option, listen to your books and just enjoy them and make your life much more pleasant. So the tip number four is swap screen time for book time. And I think this is less TV now is more phone time. So swap the phone time, swap the Instagram, the TikTok, the scrolling into a little bit of my reading. And so a way to do this and I'm. Really struggling with this right now because I really want to. I wanna be informed, but at the same time, it's so devastating. So I, what I've been doing is like swapping it up for an audiobook time where I scroll through Libby and look for book shopping. I love doing book shopping on Libby because it's free. It's free. I can just put let's, and I just do know, I don't even request a book, so I just have a, like my Libby has so many texts and so many places where I'm like, okay, I want this book. I want this book. And I have like different mood reading. I would tell you most of these texts are eventually gonna become podcast episodes because I just can't stop making tax. But that's been like such a way to feel the scrolling, but the same time having a place where it's actually healthier than looking for doom scrolling. So find a way that you can actually do something that replaces that screen time. Like whether it's reading a book and you're excited about it, and don't worry about the what kind of literature it is. Just read the book. If you're actually looking for a place for you know what? I just need to listen to a book and just enjoy and like maybe do some window shopping, then do window shopping. You know, you don't have to take the action, but at least it helps you replace this. Replace the screen time, the doom, scrolling into book time. Okay. So I have to tell you tip number five, I've been talking about it already, but audiobooks are the gift that keeps on giving. If you're new to audiobooks, actually just start with just like a nonfiction or rereading. Those are books that you don't feel like you have to pay attention, and you can actually, you know what the story looks like. Nonfiction is great. Memoirs like me. Celebrity members are a great start. Jessica Simpson is a great start. I think Matthew McConaughy, I've heard great things about his memoir, so they're actually, the authors read, like the celebrities read the audiobook and so you get to see you get to just listen to a story. Another way to listen to audiobooks, like maybe introduction if you're like. Some romantic scenes of fantasy. I would say check with the graphic audios. They're kind of like a movie in your ear, so there's sound effects. There's like emotions and stuff like that. It helps you get in a place. So audiobooks are a great place to get started. If you're new to audio, if you're actually a little bit more seasoned audiobook, try to just like. Encourage the speed limit like this, the reading speed to go up. If you wanna finish the story a little bit quicker or try like different genres and you wanna try out, I love cozy mystery audios for nighttime. We're listening because it just, it sounds like a bedtime story. So cozy. My, your audios are perfect for that. I love pop culture, non-fiction. I really love listening about oral histories, about TV shows and movies and specific things, and like actually, like oral history is about companies. There's like actually a Spotify audiobook that I really wanna listen to and I do own it, so I'm gonna bump that out and tell you all about it. But that's actually like things you do. So audiobooks are a great place to get started. You can listen to them in the car, you can listen to 'em. When you're in line, you just put your headphones on and you just listen online and it makes much life much more interesting. You are just like, it's just to help you. You can listen to 'em to a cleaning, like multitasking if you wanna clean and declutter your house. 'cause the spring cleaning. This is another way for you to listen to your audiobooks and it makes it much more enjoyable. All right. So I have to tell you, I'm the library girl. So tip number six is join the library ebook service. I cannot tell you enough. Libraries are your best friend. Libraries under fire libraries are tip. Its funding is taken away. So the best way to support your library is by getting a library card. You can go to your local library, you can get a library card, you can actually brow books for free. They have physical books. If you know, if you're a physical book girly, you can request your physical books. A lot of times those physical books come fairly quickly. If you're actually like, like a lot of books are like new releases and you don't wanna spend hundreds of dollars because. Books are expensive. You can request 'em from the library beforehand. If your library doesn't own it, they can request it to buy the book and just start. You'll get the first in line to get that book. A lot of times you request the books before they come out. You can get them the prep publication day. They are available. I've done this for a library assistance like near Pro Library where there's a lot of competition. I cannot tell you how many times I read publication Day Bucks. It takes an effort, but it's. Just fun and it's book shopping for free. So library cards are great if your library card, if you have eBooks and you don't like the Libby wait times, they're non risking library cards you can pick. And if you wanna go to my substack, I do have reviews of those library cards. I'm actually reviewing a new library card that I just borrowed. But I will tell you what library cards are perfect for you. Whether you're a cozy mystery reader, whether you're a Romans reader, whether you're actually like looking for new releases or audio books. I do tell you which ones are worth the time. So library cards are amazing. They do audiobook. They also have. Services like access to the New York Times New York Times subscription, wall Street Journal. You can get those for free. You can actually have access to things that you might need, like cameras, podcast studios, seats board games, like it's libraries are amazing service and they're third places. So if you have a place, if you want a place to work or get out of the house for a little bit and just wanna like just. Sit and journal or just like stare at the stare at books. Libraries are a great place. They won't kick you out. There's a great place. They have computers, they have wifi, they have so many services, so it is a great place. It's free. You pay for it in your state taxes and your community taxes. This is part of what you pay for and so you might as well if you find a library card that you actually wanna. Pay for, like you can become a friends of the library, you can get a mobile library. Board is a great place to support the community and I cannot tell you enough, libraries are your best friend. So join the library. Gave yourself a library card. This is my actually old school. This is came off fall 2018 library card from New York Quality Library. It was like special edition. And it says knowledge is power. I accumulate. I actually, every time I move to a new place, I give myself a library card. Like it didn't matter. It's a reason why I got in Florida State license because I needed to get a Hillsborough my county library car. And I was like, well, I need to show that I'm arrested. So I got my li driver's license. So they were like, okay, yes, you can give yourself a library car. If you are also like suggestions if you wanna accumulate more library cars, 'cause you're a reader, you wanna just talk to your parents. If your parents live in a different county, a different state, talk to them and get them help and ask them to get a library card. And maybe share that library card with them. That helps 'em like, you know, they're paying for the taxes. There's things like that, stuff like that. So other ways you can do this. So I encourage you to join the library support, get a library card and just support that. And don't, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on books. You can just save those books and you wanna buy for your trophy shelf. And not just just for the sake of having an overwhelming TV r list that you just won't get to. All right, so tip number seven is a Bend Books that don't bring you joy. Alright, this is like a big one. You kind of have to DNF. I hate to say this to you. And then it doesn't mean that you are gonna DNF forever. It just means like right now, like the book, it doesn't bring you joy. You can put soft DNF, which means you put them down, you read a couple chapters. This is something I do typically a lot of times 'cause I do get a lot, sent a lot and I put a little chapters and then I might pick it up later on in a different format, a different mood. Other times the book is. So bad that I just need to dnf it. And let me tell you why I dact it. I actually do podcasts. I've been doing a couple podcasts in the SUBSTACK about this, about books, about dnf. So if you wanna get those podcasts, go to the substack at what to Read Next Block. Slash newsletter, it'll take you to the substack. But DNF, the book, if it doesn't spark joy, like just be Macondo like it is. Okay. It doesn't matter. Books are so subjective. Sometimes you might be in the right mood, you might be the right person. You might not be the right person. And it is okay. It is actually that's a point of if you read a lot of books, you're gonna start figuring out what kind of type of books work for you. Are you a character driven person? Are you a ledge driven person? Do you like fantasy? Do you like world building? Do you like romantic comedies? Do you like small town? Do you like sports? Do you like bad writing? Do you like ter liter fiction? Do you like beautiful writing? The only way you find out is by actually trying a bunch of books and then trying to figure out what works for you and what doesn't work for you. Put it down. Put it down. All right. This is a tip Number eight is one of my favorite tips to do, especially at the end of the year, where you're like, I'm trying to catch, trying to grab my reading goals and is read shorter books or novels. I love a short read. I love like a two hour show read in the morning. I have a friend who writes this book for me, and I love this. I love this for her. They'll be published. By the way, I'm beta reading them. And I love this because every Saturday morning like once Saturday a month, I sit down and I read her Noella just 80 pages. And it's just great. It is a good time. And I'm like, I feel like I accomplished something. 'cause I accomplished, I finished a book. Novellas are great. Short books are great. Also short audios are great 'cause you feel like you accomplished something. It keeps it company, you get the whole story. Novellas. Don't be intimidated because novels, you're like, oh, I'm missing part of the story. But sometimes you don't need the story. Another area, if you're a romances reader and you wanna just get the right kind of tropes and the right kind of. Like romances, category romances, they're less than 200 pages. They don't have all the fluff. All the B plot is mainly the two couples actually having the relationship. And it's great. It's a great introduction and category. Romans have like different lines like romanis suspense. They have wrong, you can go back to old lines. They have s muddy s they have ground coms. They have actually. Er, they have like over the top Romans and so there's category for everything. So I would just suggest checking category romances as another way to add them on. You should be able to get them from the library a lot of times. 'cause a lot of times they're out of print, but the library will have them, or you can buy the eBooks on candle limited. Sometimes they come on group of three books is you get to just. Give it a try. But those are like, read shorter books, read novellas, read short forms. They're great power cleansers. If you're reading something really triggering or really heavy, short, novella can give you out of the mood and doesn't, it just prevents you reading Islam. So that's tip number eight. Read shorter books in novelas. All right. Tip number nine is join a book club or reading community. There's plenty of reading communities. If you wanna find a reading community, I do have one watch read next book. We do have a, the newsletter, there's a chat. There's ways for you connect with each other. But there's book clubs. I actually joined, I'm new to. Not newish. I've been in Tampa for about three years, but I finally got a card, so I'm actually trying to meet local friends and I joined at this Tampa book and Slip Club, which they do some wellness activities like, you know, we're gonna go to yoga, we're gonna go to Pilates. And they do have a party and they do reading gatherings. And so I get it's a great place to meet other people who are like-minded. Who likes similar books and you get to go out other readers, other places you can look for reader communities are Instagram. There's a lot of like com influencers that have, they have barcus kennels that you can join. Substack is a great place to find reading communities. My friend Amy and Sarah have the Spice and Spoon Club, Roman's Club on Substack and it's great. I love attending. I used to be co-host. I just took a step side, but I still go to the meetings and I love talking to them. And talking to our group book club meetings and like just having a conversation about books, book clubs, and you don't have to, and I am a person that I don't like to read on a schedule, so I may not read the book and I'm okay with spoilers, but I love the conversation. I love connecting with other readers. I love talking about what works but didn't work. And so it's a great place to connect with other readers and have in a conversation. I have plenty of friends who don't read the same books that I read, and I'm okay with that. And that's okay. It's like it's a great place and I can give you know, feedback and they're looking for recommendations. I can know somebody else who can give you the recommendation. You work. So it's a great place to talk to other readers. Find readers, you know, could look a community. If you're in Disney, there's actually Disney Book Club. There's a book club that goes to Disney, goes to just resorts and they read, they have Readathon. They just, it's called the Main Street Book Club. And they just did a readathon where they traveled to two parks. They just took some rides. They sat down, they read the books. That's kinda like my kind of people. And then they'd spend watching the fireworks from the hotel and it's great. So yes, if you're a Disney community, definitely do that. You know, if you're in Florida, there's Disney, there's like different club book clubs. So look for a book, local club if you don't know anyone. And your community what for community, sorry, who may be open to our book club back in Hoboken. When I live in New Jersey, I was part of the bar method class. And they had a book club. They had a little free library in the studio, the owners, and they hosted like a class. And after that you just meet up for everyone brought pod luck of like food. And we all just talk about books and it was great connecting with the fitness community and the Buffalo community. So it was like er to both worlds. So if you're part of a local studio, like a yoga studio. Bar Studio or Pilates studio. You can just talk to owners and see will you be open to do this kind of community gathering? You know, just host a space and maybe you know, maybe some of the people will be interested to do that. So. Just opportunities, think outside the box. There is definitely social clubs that are popping up, so try to look for those. But I really have to say the Tampa SIP Book Club, they actually have chapters in other I think Dallas, I think it is, or Houston in other cities. But if you're actually looking for a new chapter, you can actually build it in. It's a great book club. And I'm in my forties and most of the girls are twenties and thirties and it's totally fine. So, if you're looking for you know, fun. Chilling. That's kind of like good stuff. Finally, make reading fun again. I cannot say this enough. Make reading fun. Like it's do the small rewards. Like just have fun with this. This is not. A job. I actually have a job with reading, and I can tell you it is not as appealing. It's just when it was like when I was just a reader and I did not have to create content. I did not have to have a podcast or talk about books. It was just as much fun there. It was actually much more fun as a reader than actually as a content creator. So reading is fine. I'm falling in love with reading again. You know how I'm falling in love with reading again. By picking up books that I wanted to read and now having you have to read this book or you have to, or everyone's talking about this book, I learned very quickly that all influencers having the same book was actually something that hurt me and didn't help me. I love discovering new authors. I love reading debuts. I love trying different places. I love tiny hidden gems, and that's my thing. Find your thing and go for it and own it. So make reading fun again, whatever that's gonna look like. If you wanna read some s muddy Romans while driving in the car pickup line, carpool pickup line, do it. If you wanna have some cozy mysteries, bedtime stories, because you know what? Sometimes it's nice, somebody else to tell the story for you. Do it. Do the thing that feels like fun. So those are my tips. To make reading much more enjoyable and read more so you can read more books. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening, and I hope you have a great day.