Although reading is an activity most people do on a daily basis, some people do not enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy reading, don’t feel bad: you aren’t alone. In fact, the number of people who don’t read books has tripled since 1978, and about a quarter of American adults have not read a book in the past year.Perhaps you were forced to read boring texts for work or school, or maybe you just haven’t found a particular genre you like. You may find that exploring a few genres helps you find a type of book you love. You can also learn techniques to strategically get you through a text, even if you aren’t into it.
Choose reading material that you will enjoy. Many people like to talk about reading “the classics,” but this might not be the type of reading material you enjoy and could turn you off to the activity. Choose any type of reading material you like which can help encourage you to read.
- Check out a wide variety of genres, such as celebrity biographies, romance, non-fiction, graphic novels, or fictional works.
- Ask friends and family members for suggestions of material they enjoyed reading. Chances are that you may like it, too.
- You’ll likely enjoy a couple of different genres of reading. For example, you might like to read romance novels one day and a graphic novel the next. Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one type of reading: allow yourself to explore the wide world of reading!
2Go to a real bookstore. Brick-and-mortar bookstores have several advantages over browsing online. For one thing, you can walk through the aisles and pick up anything that catches your eye. You’re more likely to discover something exciting when you can see what’s in front of you, rather than having to know what to search for. Most bookstores are also happy to let you relax and read in their coffee shop or lounge area, so you can “preview” a book before you buy it.
- Additionally, employees in bookstores usually love books and are happy to offer recommendations. For example, if you usually don’t like reading but really enjoyed The Hunger Games, a bookstore employee could recommend other books like it that you might also enjoy.
