I used to be a 'one book at a time' kind of gal but since last year I have realised that I prefer to be more than one because although sometimes it feels as if you are not making progress because you may not finish a book a week, then a few days later you finish three at once. In truth, since reading more than one book at a time I am getting a lot more reading done but at the same time I truly take my time with each and every title and on the long run, I prefer it.
Since going on holidays I kinda created a reading routine that works for me and I thought I could share it with you all. First, let's start talking about nighttime. I love reading at night. I normally read for 30 min to an hour and after that I close the book and go to sleep. Reading at night relaxes me but doesn't put me to sleep so it's a win-win situation because I get some reading done and then I sleep better. And for the most part I pick up shorter books or novellas; recently though I have decided to use part of my night reading time to rereads. I love rereading and I don't do it nearly enough, so if I manage to squeeze a whole hour of reading, I put aside 20 minutes for the reread if possible but if not, then it's okay because it is a reread and I shouldn't feel any pressure to get to it - not that you should feel any pressure at all when it comes to reading for leisure.
Now, daytime! Sometimes, not always, I read for a bit in bed in the mornings because it helps me to awake. 10-20 minutes. No more. And then I get on with my day. I am studying to become a librarian and since it's an open exam and we don't know when the government might be looking for new librarians (here in Spain you have to become a civil servant to be a librarian and that involves a exam) I need to be prepared for when that happens. So during the day, I tend to just go through the syllabus and study. During lockdown though I started using my father's static bicycle for an hour and I use that time read on my ipad because the handlebar has good support for it. I exercise and I get some reading done. Normally I pick up YA or fantasy for this. Never literary fiction. And then on the afternoons I set another hour aside to focus on "my main read", normally the chunkiest one or the most difficult. I use the Forest app and I either set a timer for 60 minutes or divided into two so if I have to use my phone I can in between.
Sometimes I do better than others but for the most part I read for 3 hours each day, but since the time I put for reading is scattered throughout the day it doesn't feel like that much and to be honest I prefer this method to what I used to do before which was reading for 2 hours or so during my afternoons. Obviously this routine might change. We don't know how long this corona situation is gonna last but so far, I am living my life as if we are still in lockdown and not leaving the house as much only to buy the essentials and see my friends once a week if possible. I would love to go for walks in the evening but it's so bloody hot that I can't be arsed at the moment. So for as long as I can keep up with this reading routine I will. To give you some context last year I finished 83 books - normally I read around 75-85 books each year - and this year I am at 70 and it's only august and my mind is blown.
I didn't think I would write such a long post but here we are. So, tell me, do you have a reading routine or you just read whenever you can?