Many people want to read books and add that as a part of the routine.
Well, I was also the one among them previously. The most significant trouble a beginner has to go through is to pick up an excellent book to read. Because if you want to form reading as a part of a habit, you will have to continue that process without leaving it out in the middle.
If you choose a boring book to read, there is a high chance that you might leave it without reading. And the habit you wanted to form will stay as a dream for you.
I have made mistakes in picking up the wrong books, and it took me so long to recognize a good way of picking up books to read.
Here, I will share some of the ways – that I think will be the best way to choose a book to read (especially if you are a beginner).
But before telling you what to do, I would like to tell you what not to do – while choosing a book to read.
What not to do?
There are certainly a few things that you should not do while choosing a book. But unfortunately, the majority of people keep doing this due to a lack of self-awareness.
1. Don’t ask for book recommendations
People ask for book recommendations from others – what books they should read. And they forget to ask themselves that what they are interested in reading.
If you are a beginner, I strongly suggest you not do this. In this following blog, I will tell you how to choose a book without asking for any recommendations from other people.
There is nothing wrong with asking for a recommendation; the problem is reading a book blindly because somebody has recommended it.
Even if somebody has recommended you a book, do a little bit of research on your own and then decide to read it or not.
2. Don’t read a book – just because your favorite person reads it
Most people blindly start to read a book because their favorite person is reading the same book, and they are doing it in the hope of becoming like them.
Every person’s taste of reading is different, so find yours. Don’t read because the person you admire is reading the book. Read-only if you find any mutual interest in that book.
Remember: There is no rule like, you will only become successful by reading the books that other successful people had read.
3. Don’t read a book – to complete that book
Some people take challenges like “reading 100 books a year“. Challenges are healthy in most cases of life. But the disadvantage of challenging yourself at the beginning of the journey is – it creates mental pressure in your mind.
And you might start skipping most parts of the book – to complete it. And you might never fall in love with the process of reading. You will have the constant pressure of completing the books.
Due to this, you will never get satisfied until you hit that target number and even after you hit that target number.
You will never feel fulfilled because you are now reading books without any real purpose.
Then, what can you do yourself to stick with that reading process?
Set up habits instead of setting up a goal.
By creating habits, it will become a part of your routine. And you will no longer have the pressure of completing it. But still, you will be doing great as equal as your goal. Habits will make you achieve more than what your goal was.
Just start reading for a few minutes – don’t be ashamed of starting small.
The first fall in love with reading, then it will be much easier to expand your ability to read for an extended period.
4. Don’t read a book – to show off in society
Reading books is considered a macho thing these days. And it’s like flexing up the intellectual muscles in front of everyone you know. People do fake about reading books – as it’s easier to do than actually reading a book.
You might get some people to respect you by showing off that you read books. But remember, it will only sustain for the short term, as in a long time, they will recognize your intellectual growth through the way you behave and make decisions. They will get to know whether you are really smart or just sounding smart.
And this is not the way to gain a reputation; it’s just a great way of destroying your reputation.
5. Don’t Judge a book by its cover
You may have read this somewhere about not judging a book by its cover. But What I want to tell you is, don’t judge a book, even if you are halfway through it. I had made that kind of mistake with “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” I assumed the book by its first-quarter portion and thought that its going o say something similar throughout the whole book. And I stopped reading because of it.
But When I picked up the book again, it told about totally different things that I would have never thought about. You may have understood from this why we should not judge a book by its cover and reading only a few parts of it.
Then How to choose a book to read?
1. Current struggles
Choosing a book based on your current struggles is a great way to pick up something to read. The most crucial factor you need to have while reading a book is relatability. It would help if you understood what the author wants to convey in words.
If you can relate something you read with the current struggles of your life, you are more likely to keep going on. And it also affects immediately on your life.
For example, If you are having a problem with being productive at work – and if you pick up a book that can give you the knowledge and insights of how to be effective, it will change your life forever. You will have so much knowledge to implement.
Just think about the current struggles you have or the problems you are facing.
And then note it down, and strike off one by one – pick up a book, which helps solve it.
By this, you will improve yourself, and in the meantime, you will also adopt a great habit of reading.
2. Recent Interests
Another great way of picking up a book is by moving through the pathways of your interests. Interests may change over time, but it might get you hooked up in some great books for at least a limited period.
Learn about your hobbies, pick up a book of an author who had the same hobby as you or even someone who made a great career out of it. It will help you enjoy your hobby and your reading progress.
Consider reading books just like watching movies – pick up those with your intrests
Books can be about anything; they can be about cooking, drawing, or dancing. You have to read the depth of your interest.
There are so many things – we have to know about, and reading is the better way to obtain an excellent level of knowledge in a broader level of interests.
3. Improvement
Most successful people say – that books are a great way of improving ourselves. But before that, there is a small work that needs to be done to make this magic work. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses; only then will you be able to work on them.
Books are also a great way to discover your strengths and weaknesses if you don’t know your strengths and weaknesses. But after learning – pick up the books that can give you the knowledge and guidance to improve yourself in a particular direction.
Books will also help you improve your emotions, and everybody needs this to be improved. You have to be better at reading your feelings and also the others. And books will also help you enhance empathy as you will be getting more perspectives from multiple authors.
4. Curiosity
When you achieve everything in your life, you will still feel emptiness. But one thing remains common from beginning to the end, and that’s curiosity.
Chasing your curiosity is the best thing in everyone’s life. You might discover something that you have never dreamed of by pursuing an interest.
And you can read books, based on your curiosity – it can be of any topics. It is not true that – “You must always consume knowledge that has some action plan.”
Don’t always overthink about reading books – that how will I make money or what will I get by reading a book.
I ended up reading books on a variety of topics. Sometimes I am interested in science, and other times I am more interested in history, human evolution, and psychology. And it has nothing to do with my career. Even writing blogs has nothing to do with my career.
There is nothing wrong with making money, but don’t stop chasing curiosity – just because it will not provide any cash flow in your pocket.
5. Challenges
Pick up books based on the challenges you have to face, or you are going to face. This is an excellent way of choosing books than following some random suggestions to read books.
Pop – books are great – but those are only books that are good to reading; there are millions out there. And you will never know which one will change your life.
Or pick up the books about the people – who faced the same challenge you are facing or going to face. Other experiences offer a great perspective – that will open your eyes, where it was closed in some parts of your life.
Biographies are a great way to start – if you want to pick books based on the challenges faced by successful people.
6. Future vision
Read books on what you want to become or about the person – like whom you want to become.
It is a great way to know the obstacles your role model has faced. And if you are following down the same path, you will be already aware of those obstacles. This will help you in achieving your goal faster than ever.
If you don’t have a future vision – some authors have written books on how the future will be ( based on the history and present). This will enlarge our vision by knowing where the world is heading towards.
You just have to read that one book which will make yourself fall in love with reading
Conclusion
Learning should be a continuous process in our life. That’s the only sign that you are not dead intellectually. You can learn new things in many forms – like, reading, listening, watching, and observing.
Just experiment yourself with multiple things to know – what is the best way of learning for you.
The significant reason to read is that writing is the easiest way to share knowledge. And most of the knowledge in the past is in written form than the other types ( due to the lack of technology at that time).
And you will be able to find more sources to read than to listen, watch and observe. If you can find the source for your knowledge in other mediums, go for it. But having a habit of reading books is always beneficial.