Because I write, I always ask people what they read. Many people tell me that they don’t read at all. Some say they don’t have time. Some even tell me that they don’t really like reading. Others say they can’t remember the last time they finished a book.
I always make a few recommendations to people.
Firstly, try to find your genre of choice. Many people seem to think of reading as some sort of chore—but it shouldn’t be. It’s really actually kind of fun. The trick is to explore topics that interest you, especially when it comes to non-fiction. You don’t have to read Brian Greene if physics doesn’t interest you. If finance and business is more your groove try a business book or biography. There are simply too many topics out there to not be interested in any of them. In terms of fiction, the trick is to read authors that you like. I don’t finish all the books that I start, not even in the genres that I prefer. But I have a few favourite authors that I always return to.
My second recommendation to people is to make reading a practice. Reading is hard at the beginning because it requires more focus than, say, watching TV, but that discomfort goes away eventually. As you read more, you become better at it. After a few months of reading, it won’t feel hard any more. After a few years of reading, you’ll notice that you prefer reading to watching TV.
My third recommendation is to start with easy material. A beginner reader should always start with something easy, lest they become discouraged and impatient. But easy doesn’t have to mean insignificant or substandard. Easy can mean short; it can mean simple. Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is only about a hundred-and-fifty pages but really significant.
The point is to read. Start small; start slow. (Here’s a book about that). It shouldn’t be a chore and it shouldn’t be something that causes you inner turmoil. Reading should bring you joy. And always remember that it will become easier over time.