How to Read More Books Without Stalling Out

Filmmaker Max Joseph wants to read more than one book a yearhe wants to read one a week.

So he asked a few voracious readers for advice, in a38-minute videothat includes lengthy tours of European bookstores.

Heres some of the best advice for never-readers who want to start reading more books.

Start tiny

Dont set an audacious goal, not at first.

Set one thats ridiculously easy to meet, as writerEric Barkertells Joseph.

This keeps you from stalling out early on.

Once youve built the beginning habit, you’re free to raise your goal.

But the real habit youre building is the act ofstartingto read.

Its less about reading in three-hour marathons, more about picking up a book more often.

Start with something easy and enjoyable.

Dont worry about guilty pleasures and do not feel beholden to the classics.

Learning to read more is not the same as learning to read tougher books.

You have to get good at the first before you’re free to get good at the second.

Dont start withMoby-Dickunless thats actually your thing.

(But when youre ready for it,Moby-Dickactually slaps as a long winter read.)

If you likeLady Bird,Six Feet Under, andTransparent, read family dramaThe Middlesteinsby Jami Attenberg.

Theres a chapter narrated by all the attendees at a bar mitzvah at once, and its a riot.

Read the memoir of someone you enjoy, like Steve MartinsBorn Standing Up.

Read the books your favorite movies or shows were based on.

Or read the short graphic novelCoyote DoggirlbyBojack Horsemanco-creator (andTuca and Bertiecreator) Lisa Hanawalt.

Read in any and every medium that you might enjoy.

In Josephs video,Wait But Whyblogger Tim Urban tells him to listen to audiobooks in the morning.

If you really want to build the habit, try reading ebooks, print books,andaudiobooks.

You dont have to buy three editions of the same book.

(You dont have to buyanyeditionsmost library systems will lend you audiobooks and ebooks right from your phone.)

And if your friend get ahead, hopefully youll feel jealous and want to catch up.

If you live with a partner, dont just read the same book, read ittoeach other.

Reading multiple books at once also keeps you from stalling out.

If a book is boring you, just pick up another.

That first book wont disappear!

Read what youre in the mood for, and youll eventually find yourself back in that mood.

Well, I sawsomeblack bird.

And I got nostalgic for the summers I spent reading fat mass-market paperbacks ofA Game of Thronesand its sequels.

I didnt even realize: Every summer, Im in the mood for a thick escapist fantasy novel.