This article contains affiliate links. That means that I earn a little commission through them if you purchase something on the website they linked to. This DOES NOT add any additional cost on your end, it only helps support the site so I can continue to offer great content for you! Please read my full Affiliate Disclosure for more information.
Would you like to get into or get back into reading? Does your New Year’s resolution include finishing a certain amount of books? If you’ve been looking to improve your reading habits, you’re in the right place! Some of us were big readers in middle school and then stopped later on and felt pressure when picking up a book. Or maybe you admire BookTokers online talking about how many books they finished and you’d want to join the fun and read more. If you’ve been a little lost on how to get started or just want to improve your reading experience, then I hope to provide you with 10 helpful tips that I believe are crucial to enjoying your reading and turning it into a habit!
Let’s see the 10 ways you can read more in 2025!
1. Set a reading goal, but make sure it’s not too intimidating!
The first rule of getting into any new habit is to set expectations for yourself. But be careful and not set them so high that you are going to feel pressured to complete them. Your reading goal is highly personal and no one can tell you a universal number that is the perfect way to start. Maybe you would want to finish 1 book a month or 1 a week, it’s totally up to you. The only important thing is that you set a reasonable number that you can feel motivated by! I would recommend you start with 1 book a month. That is super doable, even if you only read a few times a week! And don’t forget, you can always raise or downgrade your goal according to your needs. You make the rules!
2. Read multiple books at once, so you’re always in the mood for something!
Another rule is to never try to force yourself through a story just so you can reach your goals, that’s an easy way to turn yourself off from reading more and achieving the complete opposite. One way to ensure you’re always in the mood for something is to simply read multiple books at once. Some people, like myself, can be wary at first at the thought of getting into multiple stories at once, but the truth is, some days you might want to enjoy an easy, romantic comedy and the next day you’re craving a thrilling crime story. Give into those cravings and read whatever feels right!
3. Try different formats of reading!
Sometimes reading more could mean trying different formats of reading and not sticking plainly to hardcover books! Graphic novels, ebooks and audiobooks are just as much on the table as a good old traditional hardcover or paperback. I encourage you to look into different formats to consume stories! For example, audiobooks are great for multitasking. You can listen to them while you doing monotone tasks, that way you’re using your time much more wisely!
4. Try using an e-reader for a more comfortable and cost-effective experience!
This advice goes hand in hand with the one before! If you don’t own an e-reader yet, you might be thinking – “Oh, but I love real books, and I just can’t imagine not being able to physically turn the page or smell a book.” – To that, I would say you’re right, reading a physical book is a completely different experience than reading on an e-device, but the benefits of Kindles and Kobos are outweigh the cons, especially if you’re goal is to read more. Some of these benefits include that books are much more cost effective to buy in an e-format, it’s easier to carry around, so you’re most likely to read on them in multiple places, and highly customizable, thus making them easier to read in the dark or changing the font size to make your reading experience more comfortable.
5. If you read on an e-reader, try Bionic fonts!
This tip only works if you own an e-reader, as you can only implement font changes there. Bionic fonts are special fonts that you can download and add to your ebook reader’s font library. They look something like the picture above. Using this kind of font is supposed to help your eyes glide through the text easier, thus improving your reading experience. I’ve seen this trick going around on TikTok. I haven’t tried it yet personally, but a lot of users reported that it significantly improved their reading speed and their concentration. If you own an e-reader and have a tendency to easily get distracted, I think you should definitely give it a try!
6. Use your downtime wisely!
Do you have the habit of filling out downtime with scrolling on social media? You could use that time to read more easily! For example, when you’re commuting and waiting around in doctors’ offices, you could use that time for reading! Cleaning your house? Time to put on an audiobook! The same goes for your morning walks or running. There’s so much time in our lives that just slips away, while if you stack your habits consciously, then you can make those tasks and downtimes much more useful and also enjoyable.
Take me for example, I usually start my day (reading-wise) by reading on my Kindle, while having breakfast. After that, I usually have some household chores to tend to or maybe I go for a walk, I usually listen to an audiobook this time. If I have to wait around somewhere I always make sure to have my e-reader with me. And I like to relax with a physical copy of a book at night-time or on the weekends. Some days my partner goes to bed super early, that’s another time I can curl up in bed and utilize the dark mode on my Kindle to sneak in some quality time and read more throughout the week!
7. Have specific reading times!
While it’s important to use your downtime wisely, as we talked about it in the paragraph before this one, it’s also important to have a specific time of day that you use for reading. Especially, if you’re looking to build a habit around it! This ensures that you do actually come back to reading more and more! Maybe you have more time in the morning while you sip your coffee or maybe you find time to read in the evenings, to wind down from a long day. No matter your schedule, try to find a time of day that works for you, that you can utilize as your “reading hour” and at least for a chapter get lost in another dimension!
8. Use multiple formats together to help you to stay on track and read more!
If you get easily distracted by the outside world it might be beneficial for you to utilize audiobooks and physical copies/ebooks at the SAME time! Listening and reading at the same time helps you stay on track and shuts out outside noise much easier! I see people online swear by this method and a lot of them say it also helps them to get more involved with the story and just opens up their imagination more!
9. Set the mood!
Creating a habit out of reading sometimes requires as to also romanticize reading. Just as any other part of life, the trick to making it special is to make it into an experience. So don’t shy away from creating a ritual around reading and making your environment cozy for your next readathon. For your next reading session start with putting on a comfy outfit, making a hot beverage of your choice and getting some snacks. Don’t forget about the ambiance, light some candles, use fairy lights around the room and my favorite trick is to find music and playlists on YouTube that fit the vibe of the book you’re currently reading. You can also look for specific titles, as most of the very popular books have their own ambiance playlists online! This is the ultimate way to always get yourself back to reading because you’ll never want to stop!
Some of my favorite ambiances on YouTube:
- Rain Ambiance in a City (this one is in Paris)
- Fantasy Reading Session
- Harry Potter / Hogwarts Themed Ambiance
- ACOTAR Themed Playlists – A Night in Velaris
10. Join or create communities!
While reading is very personal, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about your thoughts and feelings on a book with someone else. Especially, if you have a lot of thoughts! If you feel like you would enjoy sharing, I think it’s important for you to join communities who will understand you! There are multiple ways for sharing online and offline as well. If you’re looking for offline communities, you should look around your local area and libraries, maybe joining a book club!
For online opportunities, you can check out videos on BookTok or YouTube. You can register on Goodreads where you can log your reading and share your reviews, join communities. You can even look for Bookclubs online on places like Facebook! Also, you can follow us as well, since this is why Candlelit Chapters was created in the first place! To connect with like-minded people and share our feelings about books that touched us! When we turn a hobby into a social activity we all are most likely to thrive in it!
That concludes our tips on how to read more in the New Year and still enjoy it! I hope our tips were helpful and that you have learned how to stay on track with your New Year’s resolutions and still enjoy reading! If you have any other tips to help others share it in the comments please!
