how to read 1000 books in 10 years
(or just how to read more)
One thousand and ninety-two books. That’s how many books I have kept track of reading between 2015 and 2024. Some years were less—I only read 40 books in 2016, but I read 200 books in 2021. And the number is actually higher, because I didn’t count re-reads, and I also read hundreds of books to my kids during that time that I didn’t track.
I can hear you saying along with Alexis Rose, with a hint of sarcasm, Love that journey for you. I’m not here to tell everyone to try to read 1000 books in the next decade, although it’s certainly a worthy goal! Instead, I wanted to reflect on how I actually managed to do it myself. It was never my goal—I just kept reading, and here I am. As I said in my recent post about why I love reading, I have only ever read for my own personal enjoyment. Not to brag or intimidate or feel superior to other people.
I wish everyone loved to read, but I know not everyone does, and that’s OK. A Gallup poll from 2022 says that the average American reads 12.6 books per year, but if you read the fine print, that includes books that they didn’t finish. A more recent poll by David Montgomery that asked whether people actually finished a book found that 54% of Americans didn’t finish even one book. If you read more than 10 books in a year, you’re reading more than 80% of Americans!
Again, though, it’s not a competition. Speed reading or reading without comprehension is not helpful, and some books are meant to be read slowly. I’m just here to share some tips if you’re trying to figure out how to read more. As I have thought about how I have managed to read so much, I came up with a bunch of tips and tricks. Take what helps and leave what doesn’t.
Always be ready to read
This sounds a little hypervigilant, and I don’t mean it to be. What I mean is that the best way to read more is to use the time on the fringes of your life, those little pockets when you’d usually be scrolling your phone, car commutes, chores, walks, the car line—wherever you find yourself with 3 minutes or 10 minutes or no minutes, but you’re doing something mindless where you could be listening to something. This doesn’t mean you have to take advantage of every single possible moment to read, but if any barriers to reading are removed, then you’ll be much more likely to read.
Here’s what it looks like for me: I always have an audiobook going. I make sure every night that my headphones are charged, and I always have them nearby (usually in the pocket of my mom-uniform workout leggings). I keep my Kindle Paperwhite charged and take that with me if I leave the house. If I forget that, I have the Kindle app on my phone and can read the same book there. If I’m reading a physical book, that usually comes out of the house too. Who knows if I’ll get help up and have time to read? Who knows if I’ll wreck the car and have to sit and wait for help? I have read in doctor’s offices, speech clinics, hospitals, and government offices. I have read while waiting for my boys to finish marching band practice, riding the bus as a chaperone, watching my daughter’s cheerleading practice, and sitting on a bench at the park while my kids play. When I’m home, I will listen to audiobooks while I’m exercising, cross stitching, folding laundry, making dinner, and walking the dog. If my kids are around and I need to be present with them, I am not trying to read or listen. But when Noah was a toddler and his favorite thing to do was wander the neighborhood pushing a little toy for three hours every morning, you better believe I had an earbud in. I admired Rory Gilmore when she took a book to the school dance. Who knew what could happen? If the opportunity presents itself, be ready.
Read more than one book at a time
Not at the same time, of course. But for me, different books are better for different contexts. I keep books for spiritual formation or devotional reading next to my chair, and they pretty much stay there. I read those in the morning. But throughout the rest of the day, I always have an audiobook going. I usually have a print book next to my bed that I try to read for a few minutes before I fall asleep at night. And then I attempt to have an eBook for emergencies (lol) that I can pull up on my phone. You don’t have to have this many going at once, but if you are only reading one book at a time, you won’t be able to take advantage of all those little fringe moments I already mentioned. If nothing else, read two different print books—keep one at home and one in the car!
Always have something ready to read next
I almost always have a book on deck, for all the contexts I’ve mentioned above. I will explain in the future how I use the Libby app for maximum reading efficiency, but I usually already have my next audiobook checked out while I’m finishing up my current listen. I have a shelf next to my reading chair with what I want to read next in the mornings. And another great thing about the Libby app is you can filter the books you’ve tagged to see what’s available to check out immediately. Again, I’m going to do a deep dive into Libby soon, but at any given time, I can immediately check out another book I’m interested in.
Limit your TBRs
Despite how much I read, I do not keep an extensive to-be-read list. It overwhelms me too much and I don’t want to spend the time keeping track of it when I could use that time for something else (like reading). If I see a book that looks interesting, I first check to see if it’s on Libby as an audiobook or ebook. If it is, I tag it as “want to read.” If it’s not there, I check Hoopla. If it’s there, I favorite it. If it’s not at either of those, I usually don’t keep track of it. If it’s a book I really want to read, I then determine if I want to just buy it on Amazon (so I check the price). If not, then I will see if it’s at our local library. This process takes about 2 minutes. Very few books make it through this whole gauntlet, and I don’t worry about books falling through the cracks, because there will always be more books to read. Also, every once in a while I go through the books I’ve tagged and favorited on these apps and delete anything that either isn’t interesting any more or that I don’t remember why I added it.
Don’t be afraid to DNF a book
I am married to someone who cannot not finish a book he has started. That’s a fine way to be, but it’s not me. If a book doesn’t pull me in, I have no qualms about abandoning it. I’ve started five audiobooks in a row and only made it 20 minutes into each of them before giving up and finally finding a book to stick with. My mood changes, my capacity for certain kinds of books changes, and sometimes a book is just not what I expected it to be. I actually abandoned a book last year because I just couldn’t connect with it, but I started it again last week and I’m hooked. Again, if you give up on a book, there are hundreds more to take its place.
Read books you enjoy
I’m of the opinion that when people say they don’t like to read, it’s possible that some of them just haven’t found a book they enjoyed. If you have tried to read a dozen books and haven’t connected with any of them, then no wonder you think you don’t like reading. I understand some people have issues with reading such as dyslexia or other disorders like ADHD that make reading harder. If that’s the case, try an audiobook, and make sure you’re enjoying it. Literally no one cares what you’re reading—I don’t read romance, but maybe that will hook you in. If you haven’t ever read much or have taken a long break from reading as a hobby, then starting with something that sucks you in may make you more likely to try to read something else, once you’ve established the habit.
Stack reading with another habit
Speaking of habits! If you’re trying to start reading more, stack your reading time with something else you already do. At night, I always do a few lessons of Russian on Duolingo. Recently I wanted to let reading be the last thing I did, so I put a book by my bed and now, I do Duolingo and then I read a few pages in my book. The possibilities for this are truly endless. Leave a book in the car and make it a habit to read any time you’re waiting for grocery pickup. Keep your headphones near wherever you fold laundry so you can listen to an audiobook. Add reading to your morning coffee routine.
Set a goal
Let me repeat: you do not have to try to read 1000 books in 10 years or 100 books a year. Set a goal that works for you. It may help you sustain motivation, especially at the beginning. You can set a goal to read a certain number of books by women, or people of color, or about 5 different topics. Just think of something to reach for!
Track whatever is interesting to you about what you read
I track a terrifying number of things about each book I read, but you don’t have to do that. You can just keep a list of title and author. Maybe you want to put your “star” rating next to each book in your journal. You can use something like Goodreads or Storygraph, which both give fun end-of-the-year reports. Make your own spreadsheet. Join a reading challenge. Finishing books can be a great dopamine hit, and looking back on everything you read in a year or even a month can be an opportunity for reflection.
Follow people who like the same books you do
I have been overjoyed to find other readers on Substack who have the same reading vibes as I do. Here are a few of them:
I also subscribe to The Lazy Genius Lazy Letter. The Lazy Genius (Kendra Adachi) puts out a monthly newsletter listing the books she’s read. Instagram and TikTok have people with accounts focused on certain types of books, and seeing other people get excited about the same kinds of books that you like is a great boost to your reading life!
Find a book friend
I am blessed to have several book friends. We share what we’re reading, we talk about books we loved and hated, we snap pictures of books we see that we think the other one would like. Sharing what you’re reading makes reading that much more enjoyable. And for me, finding out someone enjoyed a book I recommended makes me feel so honored.
Now you have some tools in your pocket to try to read more.
Let’s do some math!
If you want to read 1,000 books in 10 years, that’s 100 books a year.
If you want to read 100 books a year, that’s about 8 books a month, plus 4 extra books (one book a quarter).
To read 8 books a month, you need to read two books a week.
Now we’re talking at the micro level of reading. Two books a week might feel really overwhelming if you’re hardly reading at all. so we’re going to break it down further.
The average book is 300 pages, or 10 hours on audio. So we’re talking about 80 hours of listening, or 2,400 pages.
I’m not helping, am I?
Let’s go back to my tips about reading more than one book at the same time, and I’ll share what it looks like on a normal day for me.
I usually read one chapter of a devotional book each morning. I can get through about 2 books a month that way.
Now we just need to read six books a month.
The average book is about 300 pages long. If you have one print or eBook you’re reading at bedtime or in those fringe moments when you’re waiting for things and you read 30 pages per day, you can finish 3 books in 30 days.
Only three books left!
Three hundred print pages is about 10 hours on audio, but I do not listen at 1.0x speed. In fact, listening at that speed makes the narrator sound drunk to me. I slowly worked up to listening at 1.25x, then to 1.5x, which is my baseline now. Sometimes I move it up to 1.6x or 1.75x, depending on the narrator (some naturally talk more slowly than others).
But maybe you don’t want to do that and you’re just going to stick to 1.0x speed. You can still do it!
Three books is 30 hours of listening. That’s only one hour a day!
Between time in the car, folding laundry, putting on your makeup, balancing your budget, going for a walk, and all the other mindless things you may find yourself doing, I bet you can find an hour per day.
You’ve now read 8 books in a month. Just keep doing that, month after month, and throw in 4 extra (maybe you read a little more on vacation), and you’ve made it to 100.
If I lost you, don’t worry. You can do half of this, or even a quarter of this, and still read more than the average American twice over.
The goal is not to read 1000 books in a decade. The goal is to read as much as you want, and if that’s more than you’re currently reading, I hope you leave with some ideas on how to do that.
As always, I love answering questions, giving book recommendations, or sharing more about my reading life. Please leave a comment or reply to the email!