How joining a book club transformed my reading habits
I love reading, however, in the past I鈥檝e struggled to make it a consistent habit, instead finding myself preoccupied with work, study, and a myriad of other things (i.e. season 3 of聽Ozark).听
I think our best intentions to read regularly can go awry when we treat books like an afterthought: something to pick up and skim for a short while before drifting off to sleep. And while I consider reading before bed to be an essential part of my nightly routine, it typically involves my collapsing into bed and falling asleep one paragraph in, Kindle in hand. Sure, it鈥檚 better than falling asleep with my phone in hand (something I have, unfortunately, done many times), but it doesn鈥檛 make sure for a very satisfying reading experience.
Recently, though, I noticed a change when a few friends and I decided to start a book club. We meet (via Zoom) fortnightly and dedicate approximately 2 meetings per book: the first to discuss our initial thoughts, and the second to share our final thoughts. Now, a few months in, I can confidently say that it鈥檚 been an incredibly positive experience. Not only have I been able to tick off some of the novels on my seemingly endless Goodreads list, but it鈥檚 also enabled me to throw myself back into reading, with a mission and a purpose. What鈥檚 more, I get to discuss the books I read with a group of people who have shared in the experience, making it both an intellectual and a social activity.聽
Ultimately, I鈥檝e realised that I never fell out of love with reading, I just wasn鈥檛 making time for it. If, like me, you鈥檝e ever felt frustrated with your poor reading habits, my advice would be to re-evaluate your relationship with reading, and where it fits into your life. I鈥檓 not saying it鈥檚 easy, because truth be told, we鈥檙e all busy, and our priorities shift and change like seasons. But it can be done, and it鈥檚 not as daunting as you might expect.