Reading more books by reading at the right time

This piece for UpdateSee collects the advice that holds up in practice.

People who read forty books a year are rarely faster readers; they simply read at times others fill with their phone. Twenty minutes on the commute, ten before sleep and a chapter with Sunday coffee add up to a book every ten days. Carry the book everywhere and leave the phone in a bag, and the minutes appear by themselves.

People who read forty books a year are rarely faster readers; they simply read at times others fill with their phone.

Give yourself permission to abandon a book after fifty pages. Keep two on the go, one demanding and one easy, so there is always a mood that fits. A short note after finishing each one, even a single sentence, makes the reading stick and turns the list into a diary of a year that you will enjoy rereading more than you expect.