I could totally relate to the person who says to me:
I just can't read.
I feel sleepy as soon as I hold the book in my hand.
I was just like you a few years back. I was a bookworm but I could only read my course books. I feel life has an interesting way to make you the person you are born to be.
So this happened in 2007 when I was preparing for my MBA entrance exam. We were told that we need to not just excel in the exam but also make our mark during the interview process. We may be asked about our hobbies and passion. I never thought of having a hobby during my school days because I was just busy studying. I remember we had a small library in our MBA coaching center that I was terrified to step in. One day I did and with all the courage I picked a biography and got a recipe for sleeping. I was not active at sports so I knew that reading could be my only hobby (with the limited time that I had).
I asked one of my friends how to develop reading as a hobby and she gave me one of her Mills & Boon noble. Romance fiction. Ahaa! Most of Mills & Boon noble (or the ones I read) are tiny books with a super engaging romantic story. I being an old school romantic got glued to them instantly. I remember motivating myself to complete an MBA class assignment to reward me with more time to read. I finished one novel after another. And that's how I started loving reading. But that's not what could be possibly shared as a hobby for an MBA entrance interview. I knew I have to start with some serious reading. I tried reading biographies of interesting people to start with but just couldn't feel interested. Then one day I picked a book - Only Love is Real by Dr. Brian Weiss. Yes, the love angle made me pick the book and also I am a bit inclined towards psychology. The book was about past-life regression and how Dr. Brian uses it to heal people. Most of his books have real-life stories and that's what kept me interested in reading more. I figured out that biographies are never my type of books. I found my genre of reading and started exploring other books. And that's how I became a reader. To date, I read two books together: one non-fiction (morning read) and one fiction (bedtime read).
I am no expert at reading but I have gained a bit of knowledge by reading varied books. I read various authors, leave few books after reading few pages, refer many of them now and then, take inspiration from some of them, feed the romantic side of mine and keep myself sync in with the real world while giving the liberty to be a hopeless romantic.
How you can start your reading journey?
Start with a genre you are personally interested in. Prefer fiction as stories can keep you glued initially. I started with Mills & Boon, read books by Chetan Bhagat, Ravinder Singh, Durjoy Dutta and more. I am not at all guilty of reading them ;)
Advance to a non-fiction book. Try to read 5 pages a day.
Have a book pal or join a book lovers community. The idea is to have someone with whom you can talk about books. If you can't find the person or community then you can also register at sites such as goodreads.com or find a relevant Facebook group.
Try to read every day. I normally start my day reading 20-25 pages of a non-fiction book and end it with reading 50 pages of a fiction book. I have my cheat days ;)
How to pick a book?
Read the summary of the book. It is written mostly at the back of the book. It will give you hints about what the book will talk about.
Go to Crossword once a while and check out the Best Sellers. Use the previous suggestion to decide whether to pick a book or not.
If you are ordering books online then also you will get a lot of auto-suggestions on what you may love reading.
Ask your book pal or community. I asked my Facebook friends to tell me One book that they personally love and would suggest anybody to read. Or you can follow the suggestions at goodreads.com
So am I still reading? Yeah! While making my vision board for 2020, I wrote a goal to read 20 books this year. And I am proud to say that I have finished reading 8 books this year.
I am currently reading Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. I enjoyed my last read - Joyful.
Are you reading anything? Want any suggestions on your first read? I would be happy to help. Feel free to reach out to me personally or in comments.
Stay Safe! This time is the best time to pursue something that you always wanted to do. If you are trying anything creative, you can share it with a lot many people with #21DaysofCreating. And if you wish to learn something creative, join in #7DaysofSharing.
"Tuesdays with Morrie" is one of my all time favourite ! Keep it up !
Loved the way you written! Tuesdays with Morrie is indeed a nice book!😊