Your 2025 Reading Resolution: How to Get into Reading and Make It Stick
Happy New Year, Dear Readers!
As we embark upon this New Year, this brand new blank page, we often set goals for ourselves in an effort to enrich our lives. One resolution that is ever-popular is that of reading more. It's a great resolution, and one we gladly support, but sometimes that goal can feel a bit daunting, especially if you don't read much. Whether you're trying to increase the amount of books you read this year, or if you're hoping to reignite your love for reading itself, we hope that the tips and tricks in this post will help you stick to your resolution and discover the magic of the written word in 2025. Let’s get started!
Start Small: Setting Realistic Goals
If your goal for 2025 was to walk more, you wouldn't plan on climbing Carrauntoohil before the end of the year, so why would a reading goal be any different? If you're not a big reader, there is no point whatsoever in setting a reading goal of 100 books - you're simply setting yourself up for failure! So start small friends!
- Set a time limit: Let the goal be to read for 30 minutes a day. Set a timer and close the book at the end if you're not feeling it. More often than not you'll want to keep reading.
- A set number of pages: If setting a daily time goal is a bit much for you, perhaps setting a goal of reading a set number of pages each day would be more helpful. Committing to 10 pages a day, or perhaps even a chapter a night, might be the best way to keep you on track with your reading goal.
- Try a small book: Novellas are useful for this one - Claire Keegan's books such as Foster and Small Things Like These are ideal for this goal - before you know it you'll have a whole book read!
- Have an aim to read one book a month
Choose Books That Excite You
As two avid readers, we have to admit that sometimes we fall into the trap of reading what we think we 'should' be reading. Our one piece of advice on this one is to "stop 'should'ing all over yourself." If you read books because you think you should, you'll soon find yourself resenting the book you're reading or even falling into a reading rut with zero motivation to open a book, and that dear readers is zero craic.
Take a step back and think about what you're interested in. Are you a history buff? Then maybe historical fiction or biographies will be a genre to start with. Do you love a good rom-com? Then perhaps exploring romance or even Romantasy (Romantic Fantasy) will be right up your alley. Maybe you're someone who loves a good thriller on Netflix? Then thrillers and crime might be the way forward.
Once you find a genre that you love you'll find that you're reading far more than you had hoped to and pretty soon you'll start branching out and reading other genres that are new to you.
Get Connected
Reading is generally a solo experience, but there are way many ways in which you can get connected with the reading community and feel more connected. Here are some ideas for you:
- Join The StoryGraph or Goodreads. Both are great apps for tracking what you're reading but are also a nice way to follow others. We're big fans of The StoryGraph; not only can you connect with others on there but you can also get recommendations and the app does some really cool stats about your reading! You can find us on The StoryGraph here: anotherchapterpodcast
- Join a book club! Book clubs are really great fun. Chatting with others about a book you've all read is always a treat. If you're Cork based, we are both members of Rebel Readers Bookclub and would love to welcome you in with open arms! DM us on the page and we'll give you the details!
- Join a buddy read. If you're on instagram then maybe joining a buddy read would work for you! A buddy read is where a group of people read a book together following a predetermined schedule and discuss what they've read on agreed dates. For more info on buddy reads check out our post about them here.
- Join an online bookclub. Perhaps and in-person book club isn't for you. Maybe joining one online is the better option. Each month on the pod we have a readalong book. This is a book that we announce at the start of the month and read together as a buddy read. We chat about them in a group on Instagram and we really love this connection with our community! Come join us!
- Listen to a book podcast! The highest praise we receive from listeners is that they feel like they're sitting down with friends when they listen to Another Chapter. We've had many people message us and tell us that they end up chatting back to us at times as though we're in the room with them! We love this, and it's exactly what the podcast is about, starting the conversation and encouraging connection through books!
Make It A Habit
We all know how easy it is to reach for our phones when we're bored. That's a habit that we've all fallen into. If a habit like that can easily form, surely so could a reading habit?
- I'm currently reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and something that he often mentions is habit stacking. This is where you pair a new habit with an existing one and let it grow from there. This might look like reading with your morning coffee, or after you climb into bed and write your gratitude list. Adding it into a habit or routine is a great way to ensure that it fits in with your current schedule.
- Bring your kindle with you! If you have a kindle then we would suggest that it has a permanent little home in your bag. That way when you find yourself out and about and with a few minutes to yourself you might pick up the kindle instead of doomscrolling!
- Download the Kindle app! If you don't own a kindle, you can still use the Kindle app. Download it and put it on your home screen of your phone and try to open that before you open the likes of Instagram or TikTok .
Make It Social
Discussing books with others often bring a story to life. The whole concept of our podcast, and creating an opportunity to discuss books in greater detail, came entirely from having that want to chat about what we were reading. It's a wonderful way to really think about the books you're reading. Here are some ways you can make reading a more social habit:
- Create a Bookstagram account! Let us know, we'd love to connect with you.
- Join an online book club! As we mentioned earlier, join our monthly readalong! You could also join the Tired Mammy Book Club, run by friend of the pod Sinéad Cuddihy. Sinéad is a great advocate for reading and is the brains behind #TiredMammy30Minutes - we both love this and is why we also recommend setting your timer for 30 minutes. You can listen to her interview here!
Experiment With Different Formats
Here at Another Chapter we love a good book, whatever the format! We will read physical books, e-books, and we adore audiobooks. For us, audiobooks are the best way for us to read as much as we do.
- Alternate between fiction and non-fiction
- Use audiobooks on your commute, while doing housework, or out walking.
- Keep a physical book on your bedside table
- Keep your Kindle in your bag
Try Joining a Reading Challenge
On our StoryGraph account we have two challenges running for the year!
- A general reading challenge which has 20 prompts for you to complete
- A non-fiction reading challenge where we try to read one non-fiction book a month
Try joining in with us and seeing what books you discover in the process! If you're new to reading challenges then keep an eye on our website as there will be a post coming in the next few days where we give you some suggestions for the prompts!
Give Yourself Permission to Stop
Who here enjoys something simply because they feel they have to do it? Nobody! That's why we are absolute advocates of DNFing a book. DNF = Did Not Finish. Life is simply too short for reading books that you are not enjoying, and so we recommend that if a book isn't floating your boat then cast it aside. Perhaps it won't be a complete DNF, it could simply be a NRN (not right now!) Do not feel guilty - reading should feel rewarding, not like a chore.
Celebrate Your Wins
Life's far too short to be boring! So celebrate your wins! Here are some fun ways to celebrate your reading achievements:
- Bake yourself a cake if you meet your reading goal
- Pop the bubbles if you managed to read a book this month
- It's your anniversary on Bookstagram? Post a photo with you blowing out some anniversary candles!
Conclusion
Reading should be something fun and enjoyable, and sometimes it's just a case of figuring out what it is that works for you. So start small, make it fun, and build habits that fit into your life. Simply enjoy the process, whatever that may look like for you and remember that every page counts. You don't need to read 50 books a year to be a reader, you simply have to read!
Join us on the podcast for some great recommendations and for bookish chats, you might just find your next read!
With love,
Claire & Rebecca x
Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor | Review
