14 Ways to Cultivate a Lifetime Reading Habit

Wherever you go, take a book with you, unless you know you definitely won’t be reading (like at a movie). 

If there is a time when you have to wait (like at a doctor’s office or at the DMV), whip out your book and read. Great way to pass the time.

Keep a running list of all the great books you want to read and add to it whenever you hear about a good book. You can keep this in your journal, in a pocket notebook, on your personal home page. 

Find or create a place in your home where you can comfortably sit with a good book without interruptions. 

There should be no television or computer near the chair to minimize distractions, and no music or noisy family members/roommates.

If you have children, you must read to them. 

Creating the reading habit in your kids is the best way to ensure they’ll be readers when they grow up … and it will help them to be successful in life as well. At the same time, you'll be developing the reading habit in yourself.

Go is a discount book store and drop off all your old books and get some discount on used books you find in the store.

It is very fun to browse through the new books people have donated. Make your trip to a used book store a regular thing. 

Even cheaper than a used book shop is a library, of course.

Find books that really grip you and keep you going. Even if they aren’t literary masterpieces, they make you want to read — and that’s the goal here. 

After you have cultivated the reading habit, you can move on to more difficult stuff, but for now, go for the fun, gripping stuff. 

Make your reading time your favorite time of day. 

Have some good tea or coffee while you read, or another kind of treat. Get into a comfortable chair with a good blanket. Read during sunrise or sunset, or at the beach.

One of the best ways to form a habit is to put it on your blog. 

If you don’t have one, create one. It’s free. Have your family go there and give you book suggestions and comment on the ones you’re reading. It keeps you accountable for your goals.

Tell yourself that you want to read 50 books this year (or some other number like that). Then set about trying to accomplish it. 

Just be sure you’re still enjoying the reading though — don’t make it a rushed chore.

If you turn off the TV or the Internet in the evening, you could have a set hour (perhaps just after dinner) when you and maybe all the members of your family read each night. 

Or you could do a reading day when you (and again, your other family members if you can get them to join you) read for practically the whole day. It’s super fun.