This feels stupid, but I probably haven’t read an actual book cover to cover since like elementary school.
I blame it on school system and being busy but I’ve now graduated college and I want to get into reading books now that I have more free time in my life, I just don’t know where to start.
Books are kinda expensive and I’m still living with a limited budget and a library isn’t really something that’s easily accessible for me in my area
by Common_Translator301
8 Comments
Check your local library’s website, a lot of them now allow people to sign up digitally online and not in person. You’ll just need to upload a proof of address like a piece of mail or something, which you can do by just taking a picture from your phone.
Once you do that, you can check out which services your library partners with, typically it’s something like LIBBY or Hoopla, they offer free ebook rentals.
I wonder if there are libraries farther away you could join, and use your library card to access books through apps like Libby, Hoopla, etc? Then you wouldn’t have to make trips to access books.
you could go once to a library and get the online reading thingy, thats what i do and i read a lot on my phone–i have no money for books 😭😭😭
1. think of a topic that interest you. Do you watch YouTube videos? If so what genre? Maybe you’ll find books similar to the topics. What movies do you like? There are a tons of books with the same topics as your favourite movie.
Edit: when I started reading I liked to read books for young teenagers. They were simply written but still interesting for me.
2. find an author that has a simple writing style. Short sentences, a lot of dialogue.
3. look on Facebook groups or different marketplaces, there are a lot of people who give away their read books. I am from Germany we have eBay Kleinanzeigen, it’s like Craigslist I guess (?). Also there are online pages where you can download e-books for free. Amazon has a lot of good books for free for their kindle. (You don’t have to have a kindle to read the ebooks, it’s enough if you have an amazon prime account and you can download the kindle app on your phone)
After libraries there are other places with free ebooks (not pirate sites).
Lots of good free sci-fi & fantasy here:
https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library.html
I second and third the library comments! Also, thrift stores or second hand book shops!! Thriftbooks.com is one of my favorite websites for used books. I’ve heard half priced books is good too.
For types of book, start by looking at what type of movies or other forms of media you enjoy and look for similar books. Some of your favorite movies or shows may be based on books. Also, if there’s anything you’re interested in learning about, that would be a great place to start for non-fiction books. I love history, but also reading about parenting, so I get a lot of books about those.
don’t try to start with a “good” book, start with. fun book!! when i say “good” books i mean stuff that will change your perspective, classics, high literature, etc. you should definitely read things like that eventually because that’s one thing that makes reading worth it, but they can be super mentally draining. start with something that aligns with your interests and is enjoyable that’s the best way to do it
this is what helped me get back into reading in 2019 and i’ve been an insatiable book worm ever since! what worked for me may not work for you, but i thought i’d share my experience just incase any take aways are useful to you or others ♡
1) read first thing in the morning – no cell phone, no doom scrolling, just coffee + book
2) set a small timer to start with. can you spare just 5 minutes to drink your coffee and read for just 5 minutes? 10 minutes? it wont make a dent in your day and you’d be surprised how easy it is to commit to just 5-10 minutes before the chaos of the day begins
3) after doing step 1 & 2 consistently, try going for 15-20 minutes, and eventually bump it up to longer
reading is a joy! and it doesn’t have to be a huge time suck.