Self-help

How I Restarted Book Reading (After Losing Interest)

Do you want to read books, but find it boring? I restarted book reading after losing interest in it.

I always had a hard time finishing a book.

If I remember it correctly, it took me 10 months to finish “Give and Take.”

Later on, I read more books that I finished off in a few months.

But in 2019, I completely lost the fun, excitement, and joy for book reading.

I started reading “Crushing It” and “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” at the same time, but couldn’t finish them. I could hardly read a few pages in weeks.

Then came August of 2019.

I learned something interesting in the last two weeks because I read two books in 15 days. This never happened before. After some contemplation, I realized three reasons why I was able to pull that off.

So I thought to share how I restarted book reading and finished two books in a short time-span.

It worked for me, which is why I’m sharing with you all.

Most of you would find these methods quite ordinary, but only a handful of people would take advantage of what I’m about to share regarding book reading.

Here are three methods to restart book reading:

restart book reading - 3 tips

#1: Give Yourself Multiple Options

I want you to do this: spread all the books that you want to read on the table. All you need to do is pick just one for the time being. You must pick the book that you feel “right” at that moment. A huge mistake I made was that I decided what book to read next beforehand. It only ruined my reading habit.

Not only did I read fewer books in the last 7 months, but I also lose interest in book reading. So give yourself multiple options and then pick the book you want to read during that time. Once you start reading, don’t jump on the next one for the next few days until you finish it. Screw your chronological order and choose the book that you can’t wait to read.

#2: Choose a Slightly Different Genre

Perhaps, one of the reasons I lost interest in book reading was that all I had been reading was self-help and personal development books for the past three years. When I picked up a personal finance management book, it renewed my reading passion right away. A few days ago, I read a best-seller book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” written by Robert Kiyosaki.

Later on, I read another business-related book called “The Dip” authored by Seth Godin. So I figured out that changing your book’s genre is healthy for your book-reading habits. I thoroughly enjoyed reading both books so much so that now I’m reading “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries. I’ll switch to productivity and self-help books soon.

#3: Pick a Short Book to Read

This is probably the best tip if you’re unable to finish off books. Sometimes, you can’t finish books off because there are 300 to 400 pages to read.

If you’re stuck halfway through the book, just leave that book for a while and apply the tip #2: choose a different book genre.

Reading a different genre’s book would feel like a breath of fresh air. However, the key to successfully restarting your book reading is that you must pick a shorter book; it could be around 100 pages long. The reason is that it doesn’t give you any pressure to read faster or read more pages every day. I finished “The Dip” in two days, and the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” in almost ten days. So try reading shorter books first if you’re restarting your book reading or developing a book reading habit.

Your Thoughts

Now, I’m enjoying books reading once again.

I shared three techniques for restarting your book reading if you lost interest.

Are you reading books? Let me know the book name if you’re reading a non-fiction title.

Moreover, feel free to comment on those three methods for restarting book reading.

I’d love to read your thoughts and ideas on the topic.

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8 Comments

  1. Hi Hassaan,
    great tips here!
    I love reading, but mostly fiction to relax.
    I think I’ll soon turn to reading business books because, and I hate to admit it, I’m exclusively blog-post-taught.
    Meaning, all I ever learned about runing an online business has come from reading blog post, probably from blogger that read a bunch of business books.
    I think it’s time for me to turn the source of wisdom and I’ll start with “Rich Dad;Poor Dad” as I come from an extremely poor background and I want to break that mould for good.
    We ARE what we DO every day!

    1. Hi Nikola,

      I wasn’t a book read before 2016; I never thought I’d ever read books, but it happened.

      You should read “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” I learned so much from this book. I might read more books from the same author.

      All the best.

  2. Hey Hassaan,

    Great tips on book reading but you know what? I am overwhelmed by the blogs (yours is one of them) and can’t spare time for a book at all.

    Wonder if there is a technique to choose between the blogs (which one to prefer)?

    Thanks, Brother

    1. Hello Brother,

      I’m glad you asked this question.

      If I were you, I’d check up on my mood.

      The thing I learned is that you shouldn’t force yourself into doing something you don’t want to do. Be it book reading, blog writing, or blog reading.

      You should prefer whatever works for you. A break from content consumption helps, though.

      All the best.

  3. Assalam O Alaikum

    Hassaan Khan, how are you?

    Indeed you shared worthy information, I have the habit of reading books and I wanted that instead of looking to the screen, one should read books.I like people who have the same interests as mine.

    Often when i open my laptop, i visit your blog but you haven’t upload any blog for a while.Why?

    About Reading:

    “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing ”

    “Not all readers are leaders, but all great leaders are readers”

    “One who read lives thousand lives, one who doesn’t read live only one”

    By the way, Thank you for uploading this blog i really like it.

    May Allah give you more happiness and success ahead.

    1. Walaikum Assalam Wahaj,

      Thanks for your comment.

      I fell in love with book reading back in 2015-16 when I randomly bought a book to read.

      My theory is simple: you should keep testing new things.

      I did the same thing and voila.

  4. Thank you so much for this helpful post, Hassaan! It’s interesting to me because I have just started rebuilding my reading culture a while ago. I want to believe that without reading, there’s no room for personal development.

    Those who read a lot have the whole world within their reach. They acquire a lot of skills, experience, knowledge, and brilliant ideas because they love reading. So, they keep growing at the faster pace.

    I particularly value the Number Two and Three techniques which are choosing a different book genre and picking a short book to read. They are proven techniques for rebuilding reading habits. I’ve always done it and it truly works.

    Thanks for coming up with this useful resource! It’s just boosted my reading habit anew.

    Sierra Morgan

  5. Assalam O Alaiikum,
    Hope you are doing good, I am a Content Writer with 10+ years of experience. Even though I have great command on English, I am unable to get started with books. I even tried to experiment and read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. But I was unable to finish the book. I have been trying to read it. But I got confused on whether I should try other books as well. Kindly guide me how to properly get started.

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