For the past three years, I have been reading around 100 books a year and if you had told me that a few years ago I would probably not have believed you.
I have always loved to read. As a kid, I would write my own little stories and draw comic books to go along with it. My brother and I had a subscription to Spirou magazine and were impatiently waiting for each new issue to read the stories of our favourite characters. We were always encouraged to read and this has stayed with both of us into adulthood.
While I loved reading when I was younger, I did hit a big reading slump once I got to university. There was already so much mandatory reading to be done that the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was to open yet another book. Then, in 2018, I got a job in Switzerland and life got so busy again that I didn’t give much thought to reading. It just wasn’t something I had time for, like most adults would say.
My love for reading was sparked again when I came across someone on Instagram who was sharing all of her book recommendations and I was immediately inspired. (Never underestimate the power of what you share online).
She also kept sharing pictures of books that people were recommending to her and it opened my eyes to this community of avid readers that I wanted to be a part of.
I tried to remember all of the books I had read during that past year: 5 books. It was time to create space in my life for reading again.
So at the start of 2019, I challenged myself to read one book a month. I purposely set time aside in my week to read books, time that probably was spent scrolling on social media or watching Netflix before. I reached the milestone of 12 half way through the year and managed to stretch it to 30 books. And that felt like a huge achievement.
I realised that once you focus on a specific goal, it becomes easier to find the time to make it happen. Now whenever I tell myself “I don’t have time for this”, I remind myself that what I am truly saying is that this is not a big priority for me at that moment. I am choosing not to make time for that particular activity. And that’s also ok, it is just important for me to be conscious of the choices I am making.
The next year, we all ended up stuck at home for several months due to the pandemic and I believe that greatly contributed to my ability to increase my reading goal. I was living alone in Switzerland away from my family with no ability to hang out with friends and lots of newly found free time. While some people used that extra time to learn how to make the perfect banana or sourdough bread, I used it to read. My initial reading goal of 50 turned into 70 by the end of 2020.
The more I read, the more it became an essential part of my life. It felt normal to always have a book with me to read in public transports or in waiting rooms or to spend my Sunday mornings reading in bed. In 2021, I read 70 books again without putting too much effort into it. I had built a long-lasting habit.
In 2022, I felt emboldened and decided to challenge myself to read 100 books with absolutely no certainty I would be able to do it. It felt like a huge undertaking.
In the end, the most surprising part wasn’t the fact that I had made it to the 100th book, but rather the fact that it hadn’t felt that difficult. By then, I had strengthened my “reading muscle” so to speak and reading 2 books per week felt like a normal thing to do. I did the same in 2023 and will do so again in 2024.
While at first I had to push myself to reach a set number of books each month, it has now become a part of me and I don't feel the need to keep count all the time anymore. I also don't pressure myself to read 2 books each week. There are weeks where I won’t read anything and then on holiday, I could finish a book in a day. And maybe one day reading won't bring me as much joy and I'll start reading less and that's also fine.
My one wish for you is that you allow yourself to create space for the things in life that bring you joy, whether that's reading or something else.
Love,
