You should read the Chronicles of Narnia because they’re true 

That’s why they resonate. Because they are echoes of what you know to be true. 

They faithfully depict human nature— the good, the bad and the ugly— plus man’s relationship to God. 

He sacrificed his life to redeem us. He protects and provides, leads, comforts and understands. 

He transforms us, so that we are no longer stuck in the rut of what we once were. 

Children will recognize a good story. Adults will be able to see the principles of truth. 

Allegory and symbolism breaks down at some point. Fiction isn’t the best place to get your theology. But, some concepts are impossible for our finite minds to wrap around. So symbols work as well as anything. 

Narnia is a good place to see examples of spiritual truths, to see it fleshed out in relationships and situations. 

For example, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader contains one of my favorite scenes in all the books. 

Eustace Scrubb undergoes a transformation. He’s been turned into a dragon, but his heart and actions were very dragon like before. 

Then he encounters Aslan and has a change of heart. When it’s time to shed his dragon skin, he finds he can’t do it by himself. 

It takes the sharp claws of Aslan the Lion digging deep and painfully to remove the dragon flesh from his body.

Isn’t that powerful? Isn’t that true? 

Read them for inspiration, hope and courage

One of the great gifts of story is the ability to walk in a character’s shoes, to feel his pain and struggle and then rejoice with him in his victory. 

Another great gift is to borrow courage from another’s story— fictional or not— and apply it to your own life. 

All the greatest fiction is ultimately true. Which is why we resonate with it and why it touches us at the deepest level. 

Hope is one of human’s greatest needs. We can’t go on without it. 

It can be easy to lose our hope. 

Restoring hope to our lives becomes critical, life saving. 

Read them to get lost in a great story

Part of the magic of Narnia is what all great stories have in common— the ability to be transported from the here and now to another time and place. A chance to live vicariously through the lives of characters on a page. They don’t have to be real to be true. They don’t even have to be human. 

But when we connect emotionally and can imagine the world and the problems of our characters, we transcend our daily grind and immerse ourselves in their world. 

Through the magic of story, we feel like we’ve been to Narnia, too, and we can’t wait to go back. 

Best of all, in Narnia, good wins, justice prevails and the story ends happily ever after. That’s heaven, isn’t it? What we’re all longing for. 

Why Should I Read The Chronicles of Narnia?

• Because they’re true
• For inspiration, hope and courage
• To get lost in a great story
• To encounter your deepest longings
• To share with the next generation

Read them to encounter your own deepest longings

C.S.Lewis is a master storyteller. Somehow he was able to tap into the deepest longings of the human heart. 

He understood sibling rivalry. He knew what it was like to want to rule your own kingdom and have all the power for yourself and not share it with your brother. 

He understood simple things like the frustration of leaving your flashlight on vacation. 

He understood bigger things like the lust for power and wealth and the battle between good and evil.  

Or the longing for a good, loving and powerful God to be in control. 

The remorse, regret and shame when you screw up. 

The desire for a perfect world and a longing for heaven

The desire for justice— that evil be punished and good rewarded

The loss of someone you love dearly. 

So many complex human emotions and what drives us. He was able to articulate it all in story form. 

Read them to share with the next generation

One of the geniuses of Lewis’ work is he’s able to tell amazing stories with an incredible economy of words. 

Another genius is the ability to appeal to all ages.

The wisdom, truth and symbolism in the books is something that adults can appreciate.  Kids love the stories and they are satisfying and compelling even without understanding the deeper meaning. 

Layered meaning means that there is something for everyone to appreciate and the books grow with you as you grow. 

 At different vantage places in life, you can appreciate different things. 

At what age should you start reading The Chronicles of Narnia?

For independent readers, probably as soon as they can handle the reading level. 

As a read aloud, Common Sense Media says age 8, but the average age for parents’ and kids’ recommendations is age 7. 

I’ve seen some recommendations online for kids as early as 5. 

I would agree with this. 

Yes, there’s some violence in the books, some battles and aggressions referred to, but they are not graphic. 

Certainly if you have a sensitive child, you should preview them for possible impact. 

Which order is best to read The Chronicles of Narnia books?  

There’s lots of discussion about which order to read the The Chronicles of Narnia and a lot of strong opinions. 

There are seven books in the series. There’s a progression in the history of the fantasy land of Narnia, so reading them in order makes sense. 

There’s little discussion or disagreement about most of them, but the disparity comes about which book to read first. 

Publication order means starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

Chronological order means starting with The Magician’s Nephew.

My recommendation on which to read first? Start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Read The Magician’s Nephew later as a prequel. 

Aslan is introduced in Wardrobe the way that Lewis wanted him to be introduced, by reputation and rumor. The character of Aslan is revealed and the story of redemption laid out in a way that the first book can stand alone. 

The Magician’s Nephew tells the story of the creation of Narnia, and in that sense, it’s first in chronological order. But the symbolism, imagery and backstory becomes clear when you look back. It won’t make as much sense starting with that book. 

One book, The Horse and His Boy, is a story within the time frame of the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In that sense, it’s not possible to read completely in chronological order. 

You also have to consider that this fantasy series includes some time travel in the sense that the characters transport between our world and the fantasy world. The progression of time is not parallel between the worlds, but random. Time passes more slowly or more rapidly in one than another. 

First find your favorite book genres

It’s hard to find your tribe if you don’t know who you’re looking for. Figuring out your favorite book genres will make the rest easier. 

Discovering that you have several might mean you connect with several different groups of readers who have your favorite books in common. 

I wrote a step by step process for discovering your favorite book genres. 

Search Facebook groups

Knowing your favorite genres gives you a place to start. 

Use the search feature to see if there’s a group reading what you love.  

For example, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction has 20K+ members in their facebook group. 

Look on Instagram

The key here is to follow hashtags.

The general hashtag #bookstagram might be a place to start but will probably be too broad. Put the knowledge of your favorite genres into play here. #cleanromance has more than 64,000 posts. #scifi has over 8 million posts. 

How do you find like minded readers?

1. Find your favorite book genres
2. Search Facebook groups
3. Look on Instagram
4. Check out You Tube
5. Search Goodreads groups
6. Investigate The Story Graph
7. Stalk your favorite authors
8. Check out book influencers
9. Consider non internet options

Check out You Tube

Book tubers are a real thing. There’s a lot of book tubers out there but it does take some digging to find the ones that are talking about the books you like. 

Friends and Fiction posts all their weekly interviews on YouTube. They have less than 5000 subscribers on You Tube, but over 100K followers on Facebook. 

Search Goodreads groups

When you start a Goodreads account, you can connect with other readers. You can read their book reviews. You can make friends with real life friends and see what they’re reading and what they think about it. 

If you go up to the community tab, you can move down to groups. Search groups for ones with similar interests.

Ancient and Medieval Historical Fiction has almost 6000 members. 

Christian Speculative Fiction has 500 members.

If you can’t find a group with similar interests, start a new one using your favorite book genres as a jumping off point. 

Investigate The Story Graph

The Story Graph is a Goodreads alternatives. Their structure includes ways to shelve books that you didn’t finish and how to include books that you own. 

According to their website, a book club feature is coming soon. 

Stalk your favorite authors

Scope out your favorite (living) author’s website and see where they hang out— on social media or otherwise.  

When you follow authors on social media, pay special attention to the comments section. This the place where you can find members of your tribe. 

Pay attention to groups the author is part of or references. Notice which events they attend or promote. 

For example, Katherine Reay, one of my favorite authors, is part of The 10 Minute Book Talk. They do short interviews with authors. I would never have found out about her group if I wasn’t following her on Instagram. 

Check out book influencers 

Jenna Bush Hager and Reese Witherspoon have national platforms with thousands who follow their book club picks every month. Read with Jenna has 54K+ members in the facebook group. 

Zibby Owens hosts a popular podcast named Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. 

Anne Bogel and Janssen Bradshaw are bloggers with large followings who recommend books. 

Kendra Adachi and Crystal Paine are life coach bloggers and podcasters who love to read and recommend their favorites to followers. 

If you’re looking for other readers, find out which groups or clubs are connected to the influencers and hang out there.

Consider non internet options

Check your local newspaper. 

Look at your local library or bookstore. See if they have book clubs or book signings or other events that brings readers together. 

Unless you’re talking comic books, it’s hard to find conferences for readers, but if you have any interest in writing, look for a writer’s conference, because almost all writers are avid readers. 

How can you keep your kids from losing academic ground over the summer? How do you stop the Summer Slide? Based on a quarter century of parenting our four kids to academic success, I can vouch for basic principles that work.  

The key way to Stop the Summer Slide is to read, read, read.

1. Sign up for your library’s summer reading program. 
2. Fill your road trips with movies, music and audiobooks. 
3. Read aloud at bedtime. 
4. Add reading to the summer chore chart. 
5. Surround your kids with great books to choose from. 
6. Get kids cooking to practice skills by reading and math skills.

There are proven methods that work, but implementing them isn’t always easy. Seeing three fictional moms in action can help you learn how to make the tips and tricks work in real life. Following their stories might surprise you.  

Enter the Three Moms

Excitement at Wilson Elementary is high. Only two more days till school’s out for the summer. Homeroom Mom passes out flyers to every child in the third grade about How to Stop the Summer Slide.  After she gets them all passed out, she joins Soccer Mom and Military Mom as they stand outside the school talking about plans for the summer. She tells them she bought workbooks for her kids at the warehouse outlet for $7.50 each, so she’s confident that the Summer Slide is not going to be a problem. 

“I’m actually dreading the summer,” said Soccer Mom. “My kids know how to drive me up the wall. They can’t stay out of trouble and they can’t quit fighting. I’d love to have a game plan that would keep them too busy to fight with each other.”

Military Mom skims through the flyer and sees lots of good ideas for her kids, but isn’t sure if she can pull it off alone. She has a calendar in her top dresser drawer that has the countdown till her husband’s deployment is over. 296 days left. Every day is a struggle. She’s more than tired of fighting homework battles on her own. She needs to win at this game. For her kids’ sake and for her sanity.

Enter Soccer Dad

When Soccer Mom brings up the ideas about stopping the Summer Slide, her husband isn’t supportive. He thinks it’s unnecessary and dumb. He thinks summer is for relaxing and playing and having fun, not doing school work. “Let them have a break. School is stressful enough. They need some time off.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of the Summer Slide?  Look how much trouble our kids have had this year doing homework. It’s just going to get worse if they play all summer and don’t do anything to help them remember what they’ve learned this year.”

She couldn’t understand why he didn’t see how important this was. She remembered with painful clarity all the embarrassment she suffered at the hands of other kids when she had trouble in school. She didn’t want her kids to go through that. It was worth whatever it cost to save them from that pain. He just didn’t understand. 

Enter Military Dad 

That night, when Military Dad calls on Skype, she tells him all her ideas for the summer to stop the Summer Slide. He thinks it’s a great idea. He suggests reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle out loud to them. It was his favorite book as a kid. He wants to talk to the kids. He misses them. 

Homeroom Mom starts strong

She looks up the information for the summer reading program at the library. She spends time making a chart of responsibilities for each kid over the summer. She’s got the workbooks for each of them. They need to spend an hour a day on those before doing anything else.  

She plans a Library and Lake Day for every Friday of the summer. On the first Friday in June it rains. Everyone’s disappointed. She takes the kids to the library anyway. They load up with huge stacks of books. She’s able to get a few for herself. She checks out some TV series sitcoms that she and hubby can watch together. 

After lunch, she tells the kids they need to read a book before supper. They start playing with legos, then they get into the video games. 

Her mother calls to update her on the latest family drama. She loses track of time. Suddenly, it’s 5 pm. She finds some pizzas in the freezer and sticks them in the oven.  Kids come to the table apathetic and lethargic. The delivery man comes to the door with a box containing a racetrack and cars that Dad ordered. The evening disappears with track set up and racing. 

The next day she announces that screen time will be limited to one hour a day for the rest of the summer. There’s no way her kids are going to waste the whole summer glued to their screens. 

When Mom leaves to go grocery shopping and run errands, they sneak past Dad to the basement for a couple of clandestine hours of screen time that mom will never know about. When Dad asks what they’re doing, they tell him they’re playing light sabers. 

Soccer Mom jumps in

She doesn’t care what hubby says. This needs to happen. She will make it happen. It’s what’s best for the kids. 

Good thing they already had a road trip scheduled to visit friends out of state. She made a list of snacks and drinks they needed in the car. She stopped to buy beach towels for everyone, flip flops for Sissy and board shorts for Little Brother. Then she went to the children’s book section and picked out two books for each kid. No movies on this trip. No music. They were going to read. There was no way her kids were going to slide this summer. She was going to stop it for sure. 

Military Mom makes plans

Military Mom stayed up late working on Summer Charts for the kids. She planned every week for the next six weeks until they left for vacation. They had inside chores, dishes and vacuuming, and outside chores, weeding the garden and feeding the dog, they needed to get some exercise every day and make their bed and do some reading. No screen time allowed till the chores for the day were done. No questions. This was the way it was going to be. 

On the first day everything went smoothly. 

The second day mutiny kicked in when it was time to weed the garden. There was whining and complaining and groaning and moaning. There were headaches and stomachaches and runny noses and watery eyes. To no avail. The timer was set for 15 minutes. Some might argue that the amount of complaining outranked the amount of weeding two to one. But, when the timer went off, all were still in the garden making pitiful progress. 

They seemed relieved to come in and read a chapter in their assigned books to check that off the list. 

The next day, they complained a little less about the weeding and not at all about dishes. 

Soccer Mom takes the kids to visit her parents

The blue minivan turned down the long winding drive in the dark and eased to a stop. Soccer Mom breathed a sigh of relief and sat in the darkness and stillness grateful to be there. The kids were asleep. The porch light was on, but her parents hadn’t noticed that they were there. 

She didn’t want to move and disrupt the peace. There were so few moments of peace in her life she wanted to enjoy each one. 

The next morning she stumbled into the kitchen to find her mom and dad making coffee. They offered her some and she eagerly grabbed a mug. Before she knew it, all her frustration was pouring out about all the fighting at her house. Fights with kids about chores. Bedtime fights. Mealtime fights. Fights over what to wear. Fighting with Soccer Dad. She was pulling out her hair and tempted to just walk away from it all. 

Of course, she loved her husband and the kids, but all the fighting was driving her up a wall. 

Her parents listened without saying much.

After church, her parents took her and the kids for Cracker Barrel for dinner. The place was packed and she milled around the gift shop while they waited for a table. The kids, of course, were enticed by toys that jiggled and jerked by themselves. Their grandparents indulge their wishes. Soccer Mom found herself looking at DVDs and music CDs. She ought to get something for the trip home. 

She remembered the advice from the flyer of playing movies based on classic children’s literature. She browsed the collection and found a couple. Then she bought a CD of patriotic songs and headed to the check out counter. 

That night her mom made hot chocolate and popcorn and dumped a 500 piece puzzle on the table. The kids were enticed. While they looked for edge pieces, Grandma grabbed a book of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poems and read The Highwayman. “Why does he gallop and gallop about?” Soccer Mom was just as mesmerized as the kids, but it didn’t last. 

The kids started fighting about who was kicking who, so she sent them upstairs for baths and bedtime. 

Her mom  mentioned in an off-hand way that maybe a family counselor could help them reduce the bickering in the family. There was no shame in getting help when help was needed. 

Military Mom finds books

Next weekend it would be her turn to host the sleepover, but tonight the kids were at friends’ houses. 

That gave her af little peace and quiet to do some research. She wanted to be able to bring home stacks of good books from the library that the kids could choose from. She wanted to surround them with good books. It turned out to be harder than she thought. Reading levels were pretty easy to find, it took a lot longer to discover the content of the books. Why didn’t books have ratings like movies? It was hard to know what was actually in the books. She certainly didn’t have time to read them all. 

Finally, though, she was able to put together a good list and bring home an overwhelming library haul. 

Homeroom Mom and Dad take the kids on vacation

Homeroom Mom was excited about the family’s beach vacation. She has audiobooks picked out to play in the car. Dad drives. 30 minutes into the trip, she starts playing the first audiobook but the kids fall asleep. After they stop for lunch, she figures they’ve missed too much of the story and doesn’t start it up again. 

They have a great week. The kids love playing in the sand and water. Mom feels a little disappointed that her audiobook plan didn’t work. But, she’s thankful to have a happy family and a good vacation. 

Hope and inspiration from Gifted Hands

Military Mom was discouraged. Single parenting was a rough gig. The kids were at Grandma’s for the weekend and she was glad to have some time to breathe. On Friday night she made popcorn and put on her favorite chick flick. She fell asleep halfway through, so she got up and went to bed. 

On Saturday she rushed through her weekend chores and by 11 am she was ready to lay in the hammock with a book. Gifted Hands by Ben Carson was recommended by one of her kids’ teachers as an inspiration for requiring kids to read. 

Ben Carson’s mom was a single mom of two boys who struggled to make ends meet. She cleaned houses to provide for her family. She limited her boys’ TV time and made them read books. They had to turn in book reports to her. She even checked them and was still able to hide the fact that she was illiterate herself. 

Reading books stirred up Ben’s curiosity and his desire to learn more. As he read biographies he came to see that the poverty in his own life was temporary, that one day he’d be able to rise above his circumstances. His situation no longer had the power to cause him shame. 

Disaster Strikes for Soccer Mom

Soccer Mom decided that she will have the kids help her one by one with cooking this summer. She made summer charts and posted them on the refrigerator. On the second day a summer rain storm flooded the back yard which flooded the basement. 

It took a team of restoration workers three days to get it all cleaned up. It was all Soccer Mom could do to keep the kids out of their way.  

Summer Charts were forgotten. 

On Friday, Soccer Mom saw them hanging on the fridge. 

This is never going to work she thought. She pulled them off and threw them away. Nobody mentioned them again. 

Military Mom runs into trouble

Kid #2 is pitching a fit about his selection for required reading. Military Mom doesn’t want to cave. But, she sees his point. The book is a little girly. She heads back to her trusted list. Surely she can find something a little more manly. Bingo. There it is. She’ll let him swap it out. This isn’t a defeat. Just a momentary setback. 

She takes a look at the rest of his list. Yep. She’ll need to make a couple more changes down the line. It’s okay. This is going to work.  

Family counseling isn’t so bad

Soccer Mom finds a family counselor who has room in his schedule. Soccer Dad isn’t excited, but is willing. The first session with the whole family goes well, the kids like the toys in his office. For the next three sessions, he wants to see Mom and Dad alone. They talk about communication, decision making and expectations. They’re amazed about how much is going on under the surface that they didn’t realize. It feels good to get it out into the open. 

They realize they need to be on the same team especially in front of the kids, so the kids can’t divide and conquer. 

Military Mom drives solo

Military Mom was nervous about taking her kids on vacation by herself. She’d never done it before. During the last long deployment she only had one baby at home. The only vacation she took that year was with her parents. 

This was different. Three kids for a week at the beach by herself. 

There were so many things to do to get ready for the trip. It was more work than staying home. She certainly hoped it was worth it. After she got the food and clothes figured out, she concentrated on wholesome entertainment that would also be educational. She actually hired a babysitter for the afternoon so she could go to the library and get stocked up. 

She had her lists ready for audiobooks, music CDs and movies for the trip. She also had lists of books based on the ages and reading levels of her kids. She wanted them to have lots of books to choose from. 

The six hour trip went as well as could be expected. She didn’t even try to play the audiobooks, but did put music CDs and movies in to entertain the kids and keep them occupied and happy. A few of her choices got voted down, but a couple were hits. 

When they stopped at Mickey Ds for lunch, she ordered the kids’ meals but didn’t let them eat. Their job was to play on the playground while she ate her salad and watched them. They could eat in the car. Cleaning up a few french fries was a small price to pay for the chance for them to burn some energy climbing and playing. 

The beach house was a big hit. 

Watching the kids playing in the sand and water for hours on end made Mom happy. Most meals were cereal or sandwiches, with a few treats thrown in. 

They fell into a nighttime routine. When the sun finally went down and the kids were showered and ready for bed, they climbed up on Mom’s bed. She set the timer for 5 minutes for pillow fights and jumping on the bed. Then they had to settle down. She read a few chapters of The Penderwicks. Then she put on a movie. The Hobbit or The Wizard of Oz or Wonder. 

Most nights, she would sneak out halfway through the movie and climb into one of their beds for a peaceful night of sleep without little arms and legs poking her. 

On the trip home, she started playing one of the audiobooks she had checked out from the library. The protests were so loud and persistent that she took it out and played the audiobook version of Wonder. This one caught their attention and they listened to it for most of the six hour ride home. 

Two weeks into the new school year the Moms meet up

Homeroom Mom collars the other two and jumps in, “Did you get your kids’ academic evaluations in the mail last night? Boy, what a mess. They’re impossible to understand. They just don’t make any sense at all. I don’t know who makes up those dumb tests anyway. They don’t tell you anything. 

But I do know one thing for sure. The teachers here at Wilson Elementary are still giving way too much homework. There’s no time left after school for a kid to be a kid. They need to have time to run around and climb trees and enjoy life. Kids can’t be happy when the school has such unrealistic expectations. And the school can’t expect the parents to enforce such ridiculous demands.

All I can say is that at least we have a happy home where kids can be kids.”

Military Mom had gotten her evaluations in the mail, but she wasn’t going to say anything. She had to do some internet research plus look up a few terms in the dictionary before she could figure out what they meant. When she finally got it decoded, the gist of it was the kids were at grade level or above in all the language arts areas. They slid a little bit in a few of the math areas. Now she knew what to work on. 

She’d have to dig up some information and make a plan for how to bring those up. But, she knew she could do it. She had the confidence in herself and her kids. She knew she could plan the work and work the plan. Even if there were false starts, some things that worked, some that didn’t. She knew if she kept searching, kept trying and kept holding the kids accountable, they could all win this game. And only 257 days to go till her hubby came home. 

Soccer Mom had also gotten the evaluations in the mail, but she, too, kept her mouth shut.  It took a couple of hours for her and Soccer Dad working together to figure out how the kids scored. The short version was they had lost a little ground over the summer that they would need to make it up now. 

That was okay. They had a new routine in place that was working and Soccer Mom was certain that as the school year progressed there wasn’t going to be problems getting those scores up to where they needed to be. 

Every night after supper, Dad played soccer with the boys. Then Mom bathed the boys and read easy chapter books to them after bath time. Big sister was able to shower and get herself ready for bed. Then she read out loud to her dad a chapter or two from Boxcar Children and then he read to her from The Hobbit, one of his favorite books as a kid. 

It felt so good to be on the same page and be working together towards the same goal.  It took more energy and discipline to stay engaged with her kids all the way through bedtime instead of watching sitcoms on TV, but what a huge relief to have peace at home instead of fighting. 

You may wonder how to get started with free audiobooks.

The two best ways to enjoy free audiobooks are accessing collections of free books in the public domain and borrowing them from the library. But getting started can be confusing. This Beginner’s Guide will bring some clarity. 

It’s hard to imagine someone less techie than me. 

Truly. 

I can barely operate my phone. Just ask my kids. 

But, I believe in books. I believe in the power they have to change our lives. 

There’s just too many good books out there and not enough time to enjoy them all.

Enter the audiobook. 

Now we can increase our rate of reading by consuming books while we’re doing other things— driving, exercising, household chores. A new window of time opens up and our finished books per month doubles or triples. 

I’m certainly not an expert on audiobooks, just a beginner myself. But I can’t ignore their growing popularity and I’m thankful for the treasure of resources we have available. Sometimes all we need is just a little help unlocking the chest. 

Fun Facts About Audiobooks

Only 22% of women say they listen to audiobooks. This is surprising given that women are more likely to be completing the household chores in a family. They also do a lot of chauffeuring, two good times to utilize the magic of audiobooks. 

Only 12% of people aged 65 and older listen to audiobooks. Audiobooks are a great option for retirees with failing eyesight.

Smart phones are the most popular device used for listening to audiobooks.

Literature and fiction are the most popular genres for audiobooks.

Here’s What I’ve Learned

First of all, the quality of the audio recording varies from very poor to excellent. 

The quality of audiobooks made from books published in the last 10 years tends to be high quality, sometimes employing big name actors to dramatize the audiobook.

Secondly, the organization of the collections varies from very poor to excellent. Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s available, it’s hard to browse, it’s hard to find what you want, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

Thirdly, the technology can be difficult to navigate. It’s easy to get stuck.  Sometimes you’re just one simple trick away from success. But you have to stumble on that trick or have someone show it to you. Getting set up is the hardest part. Having someone help you get over that hurdle can make all the difference. 

Another issue with audiobooks is the device that you choose. There’s so many possibilities:  desktop computers, laptop computers, iphones and androids, ipads, tablets, Kindles and other readers, and iPods and digital music players. 

Here’s a great resource that shows you step by step instructions for turning your phone or tablet into an audiobook reader.

Of course, learning all the technology and finding all the sources for audiobooks isn’t worth it without knowing which audiobooks to listen to. 

Start with the books that you love. If you need to, try different editions until you find the ones that meet your standards. Experiment with the best times and activities to pair with audiobook listening. 

Lots of people have found that audiobook listening pairs well with walking or running. Others enjoy listening while performing routine household chores such as folding laundry, washing dishes or cleaning. Another popular time for listening is while driving, either during a commute or just running errands in town.  

Or, if you prefer,  audiobook listening doesn’t have to be paired with anything except your favorite beverage, a comfy chair and a fuzzy blanket. 

Public Domain Books

Project Gutenberg

The digital library at Project Gutenberg holds more than 62,000 works, mostly books in the public domain. 

To play a Project Gutenberg audiobook on your computer, you don’t need to download it, but you do have to scroll down to where it says Itunes or MP3 format. Click on the first link. The file will open up and begin playing. 

I compiled a list of top Project Gutenberg books with links to start reading immediately. Some of those titles have a corresponding audiobook version, also free and also immediately accessible, even without an app. Just click and listen. 

Click here to try Project Gutenberg’s audiobook version of Pride and Prejudice.

Librivox

Audiobooks from Project Gutenberg are often Librivox books.  Librivox is a huge collection of free public domain audiobooks. Access the entire collection at Librivox.org.

To play a Librivox book on your Mac computer, you need to download it and open it with Itunes. It will play on the VLC Media player. 

If you’re downloading a Libroivox book to your iPhone, you have to download it and choose a place to store it— either on your phone or on Icloud. Then you can open it up and begin listening. 

If you are not listening from an iPhone or a Mac, open up the help tap for step by step instructions on how to listen on your device.

Click here for The Importance of Being Earnest at Librivox. org.

Internet Archive

This site includes the entire Librivox collection as well as a separate collection of audiobooks, poetry and the collection formerly hosted on Mind Webs. There are also movies, software, music and old radio dramas.

Everything is available at archive.org

Click here listen to George Burns and Gracie Allen from Old Time Radio on Archive.org

Thought Audio hosts another collection of classic literature and philosophy titles.

Click here to listen to Jack London’s The Call of the Wild on ThoughtAudio.com

Free Classic Audio Books

For a Mac, click on the icon. A list of chapters will appear. Click on the first one. It will begin playing automatically on your computer. Uses MP3 format and M4B format for Ipod.

Click here to hear O. Henry’s short story, The Gift of the Magi from FreeClassicAudiobooks.com. Go to the home page at FreeClassicAudiobooks.com.

Loyal Books hosts another collection of free public domain audiobooks and eBooks.

Collections

Digital Book organizes audiobooks, ebooks and podcast from a variety of sources.

It’s a powerful search engine that looks for free digital books from great sources such as Librivox, Gutenberg, Google Books, and Open Library, and also includes results from Amazon.

Open Culture includes works from many different sources, including Spotify, Audible, iTunes and YouTube.

I found that Spotify was hard to navigate when it comes to audiobooks. Apparently, you need to do a little digging to find the audiobook playlist and once there, it will play random selections of books or chapters unless you pay for premium service. Open Culture’s organization and search worked better for me than finding audiobooks on Spotify.

You Tube has some audiobooks available for free. For instance, Neil Gaiman has some of his works there that he reads himself. You can search directly on You Tube if you know what you’re looking for, or you can go to Open Culture to browse.

Emerging authors 

Scribl has original works by modern authors available for free. Scribl also hosts the former collection known as Podiobooks.

NewFixtion features new fiction from emerging authors. 

Children’s Books

Light Up Your Brain contains a small collection of children’s audiobooks, mostly books in the public domain. 

Lit2Go is a collection of free children’s literature in audio format. 

Click here to listen to Casey at the Bat on Lit2Go.com

Storynory is geared towards kids. It is a collection of original stories written in house and read by professional actors.

SYNC is a source of free audiobooks available in the summer geared toward young adult readers. These books are only available for a limited time and disappear when the season is over. 

Audible Stories

Stories is hosted by Amazon’s Audible. These works are in a class by itself because the quality of the works are at a different level. The majority of Audible’s audiobooks cost money, with only a handful in the Stories collection for free.

Most of the Stories are for children and many are public domain books. The level of quality is higher here than from other sources. They may only be free for a limited time. 

Borrowing audiobooks is a great way to start out to get into the groove before you start investing cold hard cash on audiobooks to own. 

Borrowing from the Library

If you’re looking for new releases or any book still under copyright, borrowing from the library is a good way to go since there’s so many more titles available.

You need a valid library card, then you need to get on your library’s website and log in to your account. 

My library requires a self-chosen pin number plus your library card number to access your account. 

Then you can browse the collections at the library looking for your favorite books or authors. 

When you find one you want to borrow, see which app is needed to listen to it. 

You’ll need to download a free app— Overdrive or Hoopla— depending on which format the book you want to borrow is on. (Libby is another commonly used app, but it is part of the Overdrive system.)

You need an internet connection to download the app and to borrow audiobooks. Once the borrowed book is downloaded onto your device, you can listen to it without an internet connection. 

Buying Audiobooks

If you’re willing to take the plunge and start paying for audiobooks, there are multiple options here as well. 

Amazon’s Audible has been king of the pile for a long time, but newcomers like libro.fm are giving it a run for it’s money.  Also check out Kobo and Bookbeat and Bookshop.

The obvious advantages to buying are having the book long term without returning it, instant access without a waiting list plus the wide selection of all books currently available. 

This is Jane. 

Jane is overwhelmed by the daily tornados in her life. 

But she can’t quit her job and she can’t sell the kids. Not that she wanted to, of course. The thought never crossed her mind. Ever. 

Jane figured out that it took a more than tired tips and tricks to get her reading life back on track. She had to re-evaluate why she was reading in the first place and which strategies were going to work for her. Tiny habits, habit stacking, pinpointing the best time in her day, finding a book whisperer and building her 5 star book stack finally made the difference in reviving her favorite hobby. 

The Dilemma

Most men live lives of quiet desperation.

Indeed.

Most women, too. 

It wasn’t that Jane was unhappy with her life. She was just overwhelmed by trying to make it work. 

The unmet need to recharge had been threatening to push her over the edge and the people around her didn’t realize the depth of her frustration.  

Not that she wanted to change any of the big things. She was happy with her career path (though sometimes she wished for a new boss). 

She was happy with her marriage even when there wasn’t much time for it. 

The kids drove her up the wall sometimes till she stopped to remember how much she wanted to become a mom– how elusive that dream had been. And now she had it, in all it’s messy glory. 

They wanted a house. Now they had one. 

Their dream house got away, but this one was nice. She loved the neighborhood, except for the next door neighbors to the left. 

She thought once she got the dishwasher installed that she’d be able to keep up with the house, the cleaning, her life. But it hadn’t happened. 

She ran on the hamster wheel just to keep things from falling apart. 

If she stopped running, even for half a day, it all started to crumble. 

In her past life, reading was the one thing that helped keep her sane. 

Now, she couldn’t figure out a way to make it part of her life and she missed it. A lot.

Wrinkled clothes. Cobwebs. Dust. Mail stacked up. The endless errands. And feeding the family. It’s a big job that will expand to fill all the time and more. 

With so much to do, so many things to juggle, so much overwhelm, who had time to read? 

The cold hard truth was she wasted a lot of time. She wasn’t productive on the weekends. She easily got sucked down a Netflix rabbit hole. Or Pinterest. Or Instagram. Any of the three could suck her in. 

Some nights she couldn’t face the dirty dishes. Some weekends the clean clothes would pile up in laundry baskets that didn’t get folded and put away. 

She hit her limits when she just couldn’t move forward any longer. When she was too wiped out for conversation, picking up or even composing a text. 

This was the life she always wanted. So why was she so frustrated? Why was it so difficult to squeeze in time for her favorite past time? 

And, more importantly, what could she do about it? 

Hope

On her lunch hour, Jane ran out to pick up her glasses that were scheduled to be ready. As luck would have it, she beat the delivery by 15 minutes. 

So she pulled out her phone and starting scrolling, trying not to worry about what happened if they didn’t arrive before she had to go back to work. She couldn’t come after work and tomorrow’s lunch hour was already booked. 

She scrolled past 11 Tips to Make Time to Read When You’re Too Busy, then stopped and went back. 

She clicked. 

Yes. She was too busy. Yes, she wanted to make time to read. She missed it. A lot. 

Audio books were the key, she read. 

Multi-task and do double duty. Listen to them while folding laundry or walking the dog. 

Join Goodreads, it said. 

Start a Book Club. 

Read at night. 

Get up 15 minutes earlier and read while the house is still quiet. Are you kidding? She was already a one or two snooze alarm gal. Getting up on time was a serious challenge. Getting up earlier was not an option. Especially not to indulge in a hobby.  

Read after you put the kids down to bed. “This one might work,” she thought, “if I don’t fall asleep.” 

Hmm. What about audio books? 

That one might work.

Always have a stack of books ready that you want to read. 

How was she going to make that happen? How was she going to find a stack of books that she wanted to read? 

Her name was called. Her glasses were ready. Whew. She was going to make it back to work in time. 

Jane had gotten excited reading through the 11 Tips Blog Post.

This is what she was missing. Her favorite memories as a kid were reading under covers with a flashlight. Daring, secretive, can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens, delicious reading.  

As a college student she checked out books from the library or filled up a bag at the library sale and binged into the wee hours. 

When she got her first job, she’d come home after work and microwave leftovers then lie on the couch and read, read, read. 

Now there was no time for that

She wanted to get it back. Not all the time. She wasn’t ready to just ditch everything and walk away. But sometimes. Sometimes she just needed to fall down that rabbit hole with Alice and gaze in wonder at a world that looked nothing like hers.

11 Tips to the Rescue

Jane started implementing the 11 Tips right away. 

This is going to work! Listen to audio books while folding clothes. 

Of course, kids fighting in the background make it hard to focus on the story. 

Who thought this was a good idea?

Time to pick up Kid #2 from soccer practice. 

She got there 10 minutes early, just like The Tips said. 

It’s drizzling.

She pulled into the soccer field parking lot carefully, trying to avoid the burgundy mini-van belonging to Mrs. Busybody who was on a nonstop tirade complaining about the coach. 

She parked at the far end, pulled out her book and read the first page three times. What happened to her powers of focus and concentration? She must have pushed them all out with the last delivery. 

When she’s about to try for the fourth time here comes Mrs. Busybody. 

She hasn’t escaped. She hasn’t retreated or refreshed or renewed. 

She’s on the same hamster wheel fast as ever with no relief in sight. 

Was trying to hide from another parent really a good life skill? Probably not. She’d have to talk to the therapist about that one. 

The problem is things go wrong. Things always go wrong. Just today Kid #2 forgot his cleats. Kid #4 had a fever and needs to be picked up at the nurse’s office. Kid #3’s teacher suggested getting an evaluation for dyslexia. Dyslexia? Hmm. Maybe that was the problem the whole time. 

And hubby just developed a lactose intolerance. Need to change the whole family’s diet or cook two different suppers every night since all the best meals revolve around cheese. Survival tactic number 17 now thrown out the window. Pizza night on Fridays.  

Time for a Paradigm Shift

Things weren’t getting better. They were getting worse. Why weren’t the 11 Tips working? 

Jane mulled over the reasons she wanted to read. To escape. To learn something new. To forget about the swirl in her brain. To crawl under the covers and hide her head. To quit adulting for awhile. 

And to quiet the voices in her head that told her that she didn’t have enough.

The question was, did she have enough? 

What if she believed that she had enough time? Enough energy? Enough resources to get everything done that God had planned? What if she really believed that? Would it change everything?

Would she stop trying to multi-task and squeeze productivity out of every minute? Would she quit preparing homemade dinners and start buying prepared meals out of the freezer section? 

She wanted to spend time relaxing, but she felt so guilty when she did. 

The unfinished work haunted her.

Pushing away everything that needed to get done and just indulging in a great read would be so much better if she didn’t feel guilty about it, if she thought she deserved the break and she could completely relax and refresh.

Jane made a decision. 

She was going to fight for the one thing that worked for her to relieve stress. She was going to figure out how to make it work, because she needed some respite from the daily tornados. 

So, she did a little soul searching to figure out why she felt guilty when she sat down to relax. Why she felt so inadequate when it came to keeping up with life’s demands. 

Why she believed that she didn’t deserve to have time off. 

Why she felt unworthy. 

She finally came to the conclusion that she deserved a little R & R and that it would make her a better mom, a better wife and a better employee. 

She just had to figure out how. 

Round two 

Try again. 

Last evening, she listened to an audio book while folding laundry then emerged from the laundry room to find the living room and dining room destroyed.  

Fort making was in process, which meant couch cushions from the living room had migrated to the living room and a tarp from the back porch was covering the dining room table held down by doorstops from the entryway. 

She didn’t like to squelch creativity. 

Wasn’t it proof positive of the naturally high intelligence that lay buried in her kids?

But, while she was folding laundry and listening to an audio book, somehow she breezed 15 minutes past bedtime and there was no time or energy to attack this mess now. It would have to wait another day. 

Driving home from work she decided to rethink her strategy. 

Tonight after supper she would set the timer for 15 minutes. 

Then assign two kids to work on supper clean up and two kids to fort deconstruction.  

At the end of 15 minutes, she’d have the younger girls get ready for bed and meet her on her bed for a chapter of Wind in the Willows. 

Then she’d tuck them in, say prayers and put on Adventures in Odyssey CD. 

The older two would get an hour for homework, then meet up in the living room for hot chocolate and a chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

The fact was, as fun as it was to listen to audio books while folding laundry, it made more sense to spend her reading time with her kids. 

She loved The Chronicles of Narnia. She loved Wind in the Willows. 

So did the kids. It was a win-win. 

Reading aloud to the kids worked better than listening to audio books while folding laundry. Even though the dog ended up vomiting on the carpet at the beginning of her second read aloud session, she still felt this was a better way to go. Almost magic.

********************

On Saturday morning at 10:33, she pulled up to a coffee shop 20 minutes from home. It was half the distance between her house and the town where her college roommate lived and they liked to meet occasionally to catch up. 

Since she was running a few minutes late, she rushed in and placed her order, paid and then checked her phone. 

Drat! Two missed calls and three missed texts from her friend. Dog emgerency. She was headed to the vet and wouldn’t be able to meet up for coffee. 

Now she wished she had heeded the wise words from Anne Bogel, “Never leave home without a book and a snack.” 

Of course, a snack wouldn’t be helpful here, but now that her coffee was paid for she could have enjoyed some peace and quiet with her nose in a book. If only she had a book. 

She grabbed her coffee and found a comfortable couch.  

She started scouring the internet. Who has reading tastes like mine? Who can I trust? Where can I find a book whisperer? 

Fifty-two minutes later she had a list and she headed straight to the library. 

She was going to build that stack of books. 

Yep. Finding great books was a different hobby than reading, but almost as much fun. Everyone loves a treasure hunt. 

**********************

She found a book whisperer who talked about starting a reading habit using tiny habits and habit stacking.

Habit stacking, a concept introduced in James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, links a new habit that you’re trying to start to an old, already established habit. 

She decided to try it. 

Afternoons and evenings were when she needed to chill and put her feet up. After running all day she got to the point when she couldn’t face a sink full of dishes or another sibling squabble. 

Which habits could she stack? 

She decided to go with 6 minutes of reading after cleaning up her desk at work to go home.

She would set the timer for 6 minutes, read and then get in the car to go home. 

Six minutes wouldn’t make much difference in the mad supper rush, but it would slow her breathing and relax her muscles. A small exhale before the evenings demands. 

Of course it wouldn’t work the evenings there was a game. But if she did it every other day before leaving work, she thought she could build a habit. 

Finding a book whisperer and having a stack of books that you’re looking forward to reading is almost magic, too, she thought.

**************

Her next chance came Friday night. 

The kids were dropped off to spend the night at Grandma’s. 

Hubby’s flight was scheduled to land at 6:42. They had reservations at their favorite Italian restaurant by the airport at 7:30.

She had just finished up a quick clean of the bedroom and master bath when he texted to say bad weather in Chicago was messing with his flight. He was being bumped 24 hours. Could she re-schedule the dinner reservations for next week? 

No problem. She’d microwave some leftover chicken Alfredo. 

And . . . a whole evening at home by herself? What to do?

She looked over at the night stand to the stack of books sitting there. 

This was her chance. 

The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald Davis. She found that one after an internet search on resources for Dyslexia. Turns out Kid # 3 was a textbook case and a perfect candidate for the Davis program. 

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. She heard about that one on the What Should I Read Next? podcast. So many readers and listeners went on and on about it. She wanted to see what all the buzz was about. 

Educated by Tara Westover and Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Quesheri.

She heard about them from a blog post from a book whisperer she was getting to know. She loved a well-written memoir. 

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Leoncioni. That one came highly recommended by her boss. But maybe tonight wasn’t the best night for that one. 

She reached for Hannah Coulter.  

She smiled a secret smile. It really did make a difference to have that stack there. It was even fun to create it and know when the time was right, they were waiting for her. 

Room to breathe. Time to relax and exhale. Time to fall in love with reading again.  

Let’s face it. Life is stressful.

The great news is that reading is one of the best ways to cope with stress. 

How do you get start with a reading habit that helps you decompress? 

1. Change your mindset by challenging your beliefs.
2. Stop believing the lie that you don’t have enough time.
3. Believe in reading as a stress reliever.
4. Find the best time in the rhythms of your day and week.
5. Make a reading date with yourself.
6. Use habit stacking. Link it to an already established habit.
7. Start small. Six minutes is enough.
8. Put some money on it.
9. Use reading as a reward for finishing your work.
10. “Throw your phone in the ocean”
11. Pick the best books.
12. Consider choosing books as a separate hobby.
13. Find a book whisperer.

Maybe it’s time for bibliotherapy if you find yourself operating with a short fuse. Or you’re moving slower and slower almost grinding to a halt. If the swirling worries are keeping you from a good night’s sleep or the crushing overwhelm is threatening to push you over the edge, consider reading.

Change your Mindset by Challenging Beliefs

Changing your mindset is the first step to any significant change in behavior. The fact is that our beliefs influence our behavior. If we want to change our behavior, we need to examine the underlying assumptions and beliefs that drive our behavior.

Which lies are you believing? 

That you don’t have enough time?

That you don’t have enough energy to do what you need to do? 

That you don’t deserve any time off? 

Accept that life is stressful. It’s okay.

Stop Believing the Lie that You Don’t Have Enough Time

How would it change your life if you truly believed you had enough time?

Just say it. “I have enough time.” Can you feel the exhale?

You have enough time. Maybe you are too busy, but you still have enough time.

God holds our life in His hands. There’s enough time to get everything done that He has planned. 

If we can’t do everything that we have planned, maybe we’re doing something that He hasn’t planned.

Many adult women naturally put others’ needs ahead of their own, especially their children. 

Sometimes it’s easy to let that responsibility overwhelm us, to put our needs on the back burner. 

If you’re stressed, what do you do when you have time off? Stuff that makes you feel guilty? Maybe scrolling social media. Or reading internet news. Or falling down a Pinterest hole.

So, this tactic is to replace some of that activity that isn’t productive with something that will be helpful. Bump your reading material up a notch. Be intentional. 

Identify if learning new things is more uplifting or getting lost in story is more uplifting or a little of both. Both can be helpful. 

The liberating reality is that 6 minutes is enough time. 

If marking things off your to do list gives you satisfaction, then put reading on the list. Set the timer for 6 minutes. Completely relax and don’t worry about everything else on the list for that time.

Stop feeling guilty about reading.

If bibliotherapy helps you stay sane, if it helps you be a nicer human, if it just makes you happier, then make peace with the time you spend reading. 

Believe in reading as a stress reliever

Believe that reading will make your life better.

I believe in reading. I know it’s helped me through lots of rough patches in life. 

Yes, it’s true. Diet, exercise, the right medications, meaningful work and loving relationships matter.  There’s so many aspects to building a great life. 

But, I truly believe a critical piece of the puzzle is reading. Okay, the bigger picture is learning new things, getting lost in a story, being inspired and uplifted.

And, yes, there’s a lot of different ways to make that happen.

Go for a walk outside.

Turn off the lights, light a candle, lie down and listen to some music. 

Fill a bubble bath and sip your favorite drink. 

Picking up a book for 6 minutes can be even easier. Almost as easy as scrolling.

But choosing the right books and incorporating them into your life can be life changing. 

Strategize the best way to make it work with your current schedule.

Find the Best Time in the Rhythms of your Day and Week

Analyze the rhythms of your day

First of all, it makes sense if you’re reading to learn to schedule it early in your day. You tend to be more alert, your brain tends to work best first thing in the morning.

But, if you’re reading for stress relief, it makes sense to plan on it later in the day. It could be a gripping, page turning novel or something that you’re deep diving into to learn more about. The point is, though, it has to be something you’re looking forward to. 

One exception to this is if your morning commute or morning exercise is a good time for you to build a reading habit. 

When I was driving kids to school, we got to the point when my beginning drivers were in the driver’s seat and I was a passenger. On the straight stretches when I could trust the student driver, I would read aloud to everyone in the car. We loved it. Yes, you have to find those excellent books that delight all ages, even the adults. But, it’s so worth it. 

You probably have a few options in the rhythms of your day that are best to build a reading habit. 

Consider the middle of the day. 

This could be on your lunch hour if you’re at work. Or during baby’s naptime. Or right after lunch if you’re homeschooling or working from home. The point is, you’ve successfully nagivated your morning (or unsuccessfully, in which case you need the break even more.) And now is the time designated to read, when you can breathe a sigh of relief, refresh and fill the tank again. 

Depending on your personality, you might want to set the timer. You know whether you’ll need a kick in the seat of the pants to stop or if you need the encouragement to stick with the plan and not get up early to start working again. 

Another option for later in the day is shoot for 4 o’clock or the lull before the mad supper rush begins. Or plan to show up early for sports practice pick up. Sitting there waiting is your own personal reading time. (As long as you hide from the other pick up parents— unless working on those relationships is higher priority.)

Depending on the ages and needs of the people you live with, after supper clean up might be the best time to plan your reading habit. 

Maybe you have a guest room or den or porch you can escape to for 20 or 30 minutes before the bedtime routine. 

Maybe you need to get everyone bathed and settled and tucked in before you can even think of relaxing. 

Those before sleep minutes are some of the best for reading. If you’re exhausted, of course, you might run out of steam 4 minutes in. That’s okay. Just knowing that you have that to look forward to can get you through the rough spots in the day. 

Instead of your daily rhythms, or in addition to them, take a look at your weekly rhythms.

Make a Reading Date with Yourself

You might have to make a coffee shop date with yourself once a week to escape the craziness. Call in the reinforcements to cover for you: spouse, girlfriend, sister, mom, older offspring. The 24/7 mom job is overwhelming. Get some help. 

Knowing that you have a reading date with yourself coming up means you can work hard with the knowledge that you’re going to get back to that great book.

Put it on the calendar. Put it in your planner.

You are important. 

Keep your commitment to yourself. 

Decide what parts of your daily and weekly rhythms need to be protected reading times. For your own mental health and for the good of those around you. 

Throw your phone in the ocean 

This is Austin Kleon’s number one tip for how to read more. 

He qualifies it by adding, “or put it in airplane mode”.

The point is our phone keeps us from the most important things. It can be a time suck. 

It’s easy to fall down the social media hole. 

The same thing applies to Netflix binges and internet scrolling, even watching commercial TV.

Investing that time in reading books instead will pay off. 

You will be choosing what your mind is chewing on, instead of letting random algorhthyms choose, or even your social media friends and gurus. 

“Don’t leave home without a book and a snack”

Wise words from Anne Bogel.

Always having your books accessible is important for grabbing those wasted minutes that we spend waiting in line, waiting in lobbies, commuting, exercising. 

A fact of human nature is that our mind will be chewing on something all the time. 

That means you need to feed it. 

The fodder you pump into your mind is what you will chew on. 

The best news is that you can make a conscious choice to fill your mind with great literature, with inspiring true stories and uplifting affirmations. Or you can feed it fear producing information and let it wander to negative thoughts. Your mind can spin in circles with worry and the tornado of overwhelm or you can meditate on truth and beauty.

Use Habit Stacking

Link your reading habit to an already established habit.

One important thing James Clear talks about in Atomic Habits is habit stacking. Linking new habits to old habits. If you have a firmly established habit of brushing your teeth, you could link the habit of wiping down the sink. If you have an already established habit of doing dishes after dinner every day, you could link the habit of sweeping the kitchen floor. If you have the habit of checking facebook, you could link the habit of sending an email to your mom. 

It’s easier to add a new habit to an already established habit than to establish a new habit by itself. 

This works well with establishing a reading habit. 

Some habits pair naturally with a reading habit. Walking the dog or folding laundry works great with listening to an audio book. 

Putting your feet up and drinking a cup of coffee in the middle of the morning or afternoon works great with consuming a chapter of an engrossing mystery. 

Waiting for a child to get out of practice or rehearsal is a great time to get a little reading done. In fact, you can plan it that way and get there a few minutes early. 

Different studies have come up with different results, but repetitions of 21 to 66 have shown good success in establishing a new habit. 

Repetition and a habit tracker helps to get a new habit going. 

Read at the same time every day or every week and mark it off on a habit tracker. Try to make an unbroken chain. 

If you drive to work every day and listen to the radio, you could substitute that for an audio book. 

If you scroll email before going to bed, you could read inspiring stories, devotional thoughts or a chapter in a page turner instead. 

Reading before going to sleep is a great habit to cultivate. 

A sleep researcher reports that one of the most common problems he sees is people having problems falling asleep because of the swirling thoughts that accost them when they lay down to go to sleep. 

Counting sheep (or counting backwards by threes from 300) or working Soduku puzzles focuses your mind to a boring repetitious pattern that bypasses the swirling thoughts. 

Getting lost in a story can do the same thing. 

Reading uplifting, inspiring stories can quell the anxious thoughts, the unsolvable problems, the regrets and negative thoughts. 

Start Small

Make it so small it’s easy. 

Another tip from James Clear is to start with habits so tiny it’s almost impossible not to do it. This is where 6 minutes fits in.  Six minutes is enough. Even better, 6 minutes is long enough to make a difference.

Studies show that muscles start relaxing and breathing slows after as little as six minutes.

Small steps can result in big changes.

Read longer, more complicated books on vacation, road trips and weekends.

Put Some Money on It

Studies show that an effective way to change behavior is to put money at stake.  It works for weight loss. It works for achieving work goals. 

It’s a little different than a straight reward system. 

Say you tell your spouse or offspring you will pay them $500 on December 31st if you haven’t read 50 books by then.  

You will actually lose a chunk of change if you don’t follow through. 

It is amazingly motivating. 

Use Reading as a Reward for Finishing your Work

Finishing your work doesn’t necessarily mean getting all the tasks done.

In The Messies Manual Sandra Felton recommends the Mt. Vernon method of housecleaning. At the historic George Washinton’s house at Mt. Vernon, there’s a team of cleaners who work 8 hours a day to keep the house clean. They start at the front door and clean clockwise. When their 8 hours is up, they go home for the day. 

If we apply that to our lives, then when our time designated for work is up, we stop. We pick it up again the next day. 

The old saying is a woman’s work is never done. 

Truer words were never spoken. 

The point is: stop working. It’s hard to do when there’s more work. But, if there’s always more to do, you will never stop.

Rest and read. 

Read for fun. The hours for work are over, regardless of the progress you made. It can wait till tomorrow. Now is your time to read. 

Pick the Best Books

The real key is to have a stack of books that you’re looking forward to reading, and a good one that you’re in the middle of all the time. 

Like magic, you’ll find that you’re plowing through books at record speed. 

Follow your interests. Pick books you’re excited about reading 

Read to learn or read to escape. Either one will lower your stress if you’re learning about something that you’re excited to learn. 

Quit reading books that aren’t working for you.

Re-read your favorites.

The key to looking forward to your reading habit, is to be surrounded by books that you’re loving, which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. 

Consider Choosing Books as a Separate Hobby

I saw a meme that said, “I consider crafting and buying crafting supplies to be two different hobbies.”

It made me laugh, but there’s some truth to that. 

Putting some time and effort into finding the right books will pay off in an exponentially better reading life. Finding great books to read can be a fun hobby in itself. So can tracking the books you read, reviewing the books you read and sharing the books you read with others. 

All fun. All different from actually reading. 

But finding the right books for you? How do you make that happen?  

Find a Book Whisperer

Follow someone you trust.

Best seller lists usually aren’t the way to go. Amazon or New York Times is going to have back to back books that are polar opposite from each other in every respect. Yes, a lot of copies were sold, but to different people. Random picks from best seller lists are going to be hit or miss. You want better percentages than that. 

There’s thousands of people on the internet willing to share their recommendations with you. The trick is to find someone whose tastes are similar and someone you can trust. 

If you connect to a trusted book whisperer, you can explore new authors or even new genres that you might not have considered without a recommendation. 

Finding book whisperers has dramatically improved my reading life. I never have to read another book that I don’t know something about. 

Follow #bookstagram. Listen to podcasts about books. Watch You Tube videos about books.

Check out podcasts and You Tube channels. What Should I Read Next?, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and the Read to Lead podcast have a lot of recommendations.

Social Media is a great place to find professional book reviewers as well as hobbyists who share for the joy of it. 

One place to start is my post What Should I Read When I Don’t Have Time to Read?

Happy Reading!

Before I had kids I looked forward to reading to them. When our four were growing up sharing books with them ranked at the top of parentings joys. Now as a grandparent I’m loving it at a whole new level.

How do you get a two-year-old interested in books? Pick the best books. Find the best time to read. Follow their curiosity. Reward reading sessions.

You loved reading as kid and you want to pass on that love or you’ve heard how important reading to kids is for intellectual development. Either way, you may feel frustrated or disappointed that your child isn’t showing much interest in books. Don’t worry. You can grow that interest.

Parenting (and grand parenting and caregiving) is an art, not a science. 

There’s a lot of experimenting and a lot of hit and miss. 

And just when you get it figured out, everything changes and you start again from ground zero.

With four kids and three grandkids one thing I’ve learned is that not everything works for every kid. How wonderful that we’re all different, even from day one. But it sure makes parenting challenging. 

If you have a two-year-old who’s not showing much interest in books, what can you do?  

Don’t worry about it. 

Celebrate their uniqueness. Accept a non-book loving child and don’t worry about their intellectual development.

If there’s a history of problems with eyesight in the family, you could consider taking your child to the eye doctor. There are ways to test the eyesight of very young children. My grand daughter was prescribed glasses before she turned two.

Be patient

It might be time to lower your expectations. Maybe they’ll show more interest as they get older, maybe they will continue to follow other pursuits.  

You can take a low key approach by surrounding them with books, looking for opportune moments and dropping it when they lose interest. 

Don’t express frustration or disappointment. They can’t help the way they’re wired.

Look for other ways to increase vocabulary

You’ve heard so much how reading to your child will prepare them academically and will increase their vocabulary. But there’s other ways to achieve that goal. 

Music is a great way: sing with them, finger play or listen to music.  All good ways for them to absorb more vocabulary. 

Of course, talking to them is a great way to increase vocabulary. Ask them questions. Carry on both sides of the dialogue if they aren’t verbalizing much yet. 

Play some audio books or children’s programming. Of course, I’m not advocating hours a day in front of the screen, but educational TV is specifically aimed at teaching kids vocabulary as well as math concepts and general knowledge.  

Pick the Best Books

I think picking the best books is really the key. You don’t even have to have lot, since it’s likely they’ll want to read the same ones over and over.  

Interactive books, funny books and touch and feel books all work well.

You have to love them, too. When reading to children, a book has to please both audiences, the adult and the child. If you’re tired of a book, move it out of sight. You are taller than they are and they sleep more. You have the advantage here. 

Realize that little girls may have different interests than little boys. 

It could be that your little boy is interested in cars and trucks and that’s what he wants to see in his books, too. 

Maybe your little girl is more verbal and is ready for books with real pages, longer stories and and relatable characters. It could be that the books you loved as a small child aren’t the same ones that capture their attention. Take your cues from them. 

Borrow AND Buy

Books from the library are great for trying out new titles and getting some variety.  But also buy books that can be handled and loved. There’s something special about books that you own.

Keep books handy, in line of sight. Display books face out.

I believe in surrounding kids with books. It’s so easy for all of us to get addicted to screens, down to the smallest among us. But there’s a whole world to explore and people to love and stories to ignite the imagination.

Keeping a basket of books in the living room or play room or bedroom means easy access when a window of opportunity opens up to read. Displaying books face out on a shelf or ledge invites kids to take initiative to check them out.  

Put board books or sturdy books in with the toys. 

Some books were made to take the roughest treatment kids can dish out. A lot board books work well. There’s also indestructibles. These books are made of special material that won’t rip or tear.

Find the Best Time to Read

Make sure they are hydrated, full and rested. 

No matter your age, you get cranky when you’re tired, thirsty or hungry. A reading session won’t go well if there’s a pressing physically need, including a full diaper or a toddler who’s too hot or cold. Make sure all the environmental factors are taken care of so your child can fully engage without distraction.

If before nap time and bedtime isn’t working, try another time

Reading before nap time or bedtime works for lots of kids, but not all of them. Right after breakfast might be a good time or right after supper. Or just a few minutes here and there randomly throughout the day.

Reading sessions with two-year-olds are likely to be short. Maybe 5 minutes. Maybe two. As their love for reading grows, the sessions naturally get longer.

Delight and Affection

Sarah Mackenzie of the Read Aloud Revival podcast says that children should associate reading with delight and affection. Some kids are cuddlers and some aren’t. Lap sitting and reading are great for cuddlers. Add in a fuzzy blanket, stuffed animals or dolls and you’re set up for a great reading session.

If your child isn’t a cuddler, they might prefer running cars across the floor or stacking blocks while you’re reading. In those cases, look for books that rhyme or are otherwise orally appealing, since they aren’t fixated on the pictures.

Here’s some of my favorites.

For more book ideas, check out my post One Book a Month for Toddlers from Grandma.

Follow Their Curiosity and Let Them Set the Pace

Let them pick the books they want to read. Yes, this might be the same book over and over again until you’re sick of it. Don’t forget. You’re taller. You can rotate those books you’re tired of and get them out of sight. Two-year-olds can remember toys, books and people who are not right in front of them. But, they are also easily distracted.

Go faster and skip passages or pages. You could try reading one sentence or even one word on a page. Or, you could just talk about pictures. It’s hard for us finishers to walk away from a book halfway through. It’s okay. Let it go.

It’s hard for perfectionists not to read every word. Trust me. This is a good way to read to toddlers. You’re not too old to learn new tricks. Put this one in your toolbelt. Talk about the pictures if they’re interested in them and don’t worry about the text. 

Reward Reading Sessions with Stickers or Treats

Reading is it’s own intrinsic reward. But, if you have a child with little interest in books you might want to up your game. Let him know that at the end she gets a treat or stickers or even screen time.

Every behavior in small children that we want to reinforce can be rewarded. That includes paying attention to books. Your delight can also be contagious. Don’t forget you’re out to please two audiences. Find that common ground where you’re both happy.

Start reading to yourself out aloud without paying attention to him. 

This is another tip from Sarah Mackenzie. She uses it with her kids when they’re out of sorts. She doesn’t invite them to listen or make an announcement. She just starts reading. Inevitably they ditch their tantrum and get sucked into the story.

This is when you’ll be glad you’ve picked the best books and have them stashed in convenient places around the house.

Click here to see my top picks for babies and toddlers.

Let’s say you’re feeling depressed. What benefits of bibliotherapy could help? You could start sleeping better, increase your dopamine hits, improve your relationships and slow the effects of aging on your brain. You could learn a new hobby, change careers, improve your health and rediscover your hope.

All that from reading? You betcha!

Let me be clear. I’m referring bibliotherapy in it’s most general term. While doing research for this post, I found quite a bit on professional bibliotherapy as a treatment for anxiety, depression and other afflictions. It’s fascinating how trained therapists are using directed reading to improve people’s mental health.

What I’m talking about here is self-directed bibliotherapy, that is to say choosing your own books and reading to make life better.

There are many well-known benefits of reading. Reading lowers stress by reducing your heart rate and releasing muscle tension starting in as little as six minutes.

It’s well-known that reading expands your vocabulary, increases your knowledge and can help you have more empathy for others.

Toss in the advantages of taking a mini-vacation. Reading has a lot going for it.

But, there’s some benefits that might not be so obvious. Maybe even surprising.

Bibliotherapy Can Improve Relationships

Since reading is often a solitary activity and can serve as a moat to keep people away, it might surprise you to realize how many ways reading can improve your social life and relationships.

First of all, it will improve the relationships of the people you’re reading with. This is includes reading aloud to the kids and grandkids, the people in your book club or Bible Study group or a classmates that share a book reading experience.

Sarah Mackenzie talks about making meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books.

When a group of people read the same books, they have shared memories. They can have discussions (if they want to) about their thoughts and feelings on the book.

If you read living authors, you have the chance to connect with the authors themselves or fellow fans. Super famous authors don’t have time to build friendships with all their fans. But, lots of authors are building their fan base or have an enormous capacity for human interaction. Virtually every author in the world is encouraged to hear how their work has made a positive impact on you, whether they have time to respond or not.

Reading also opens up the door bookish kindred spirits. The books that people love tell a lot about them.

Something I’ve loved the past few years is sharing books with my mom and dad. Their reading tastes overlap mine, and it’s been fun to introduce my favorite books that I think Dad will like and the ones that I think Mom will like. Sometimes I’m way off base. But, when I hit the target, it’s pretty fun. Becoming Mom and Dad’s Book Whisperer has been one of the best roles of my life.

Reading can also make you a better conversationalist and give you stories to tell. Your reading life can help you build the relational bridges to the people around you.

Bibliotherapy Can Increase Dopamine Hits From Learning

Dopamine is a feel good chemical that occurs naturally in the body, but there are ways to stimulate the production of dopamine. Learning new things is one way.

A study from UC Berkley showed that your brain receives dopamine hits when you learn new information. If you read to learn, your body will reward you chemically.

Learning new things can literally make you feel better. Who hasn’t had a eureka moment that got them excited? Why not put yourself in a position to learn on a regular basis?

Read to learn. It’s good for your happiness.

Bibliotherapy Can Combat the Effects of Aging on the Brain

Research shows that intellectual stimulation is a great way to diminish the effects or onset of Alzheimer’s. Doing puzzles helps the brain’s capacity. Following the storyline of a books and keeping track of characters helps. Even the mental stimulation of a good whodunit is exercise for the brain.

Reading and writing and other mentally stimulating activities can slow the decline of mental function as we age.

Professor and researcher Dr. Robert P. Friedland is quoted in a USA Today article, “Just as physical activity strengthens the heart, muscles and bones, intellectual activity strengthens the brain against disease.”

Even if you’re not close to feeling the effects of aging, a lifetime of mental stimulation is the best protection against mental decline. Start early. Build a lifetime practice of reading to learn and reading to entertain.

There’s so much that goes into good brain health but why leave out one of the most pleasurable? Read for your brain.

Bibliotherapy Can Lead to a Paradigm Shift

Reading opens up new avenues, new worlds, new ideas, new perspectives, new ways of looking at the world. It can totally mess with your values, attitudes and beliefs. That’s a good thing, or it can be a good thing.

Truth can handle scrutiny.

Reading can change the what you believe about yourself, God, people, and the world. It can challenge your current beliefs or strengthen them. It can open up a new avenue of belief.

Sometimes what we believe is illogical and irrational. No amount of reasoning will change our minds about what we cling to. We are often not receptive to another point of view. We are resistant to anything that challenges our current beliefs.

Other times, we’re searching. We’re looking for new answers, another perspective, a different world view. We’re open to the teachers and gurus who have something to give. At least, we’re open to certain ones. We’re willing to accept new information, a different point of view.

It’s times like these when the wisdom of the ages is at our disposal. All we have to do is go to the library. Do the research. Mine the lifework of the pioneers who came before us. Someone else has wrestled with the same demons. No need to reinvent the wheel.

We can go as far as they have and then one step further.

But, the point here is that we can enlarge our thinking, expand our understanding by reading. We can open ourselves up for a paradigm shift if we are willing. There’s no danger is studying anything with an open mind. Truth can survive scrutiny.

Bibliotherapy Can Reintroduce Hope

Memoirs and biographies can inspire us.

We are encouraged, that is to say, infused with courage by reading their stories. I remember when I was in difficult situations thinking that if Corrie Ten Boom could survive the concentration camp, I could survive, too. My situation was not nearly as bad as hers.

Even fiction can inspire. When we relate to a character, hero or person, we can vicariously feel their emotions and celebrate their victories with them. That gives us hope to face our foes, to climb our mountains and win our battles.

It’s possible to live without a lot of things, but hope is essential. Getting the inside story about people winning helps us believe we can win, too and the future will be better than the present. That there is a way out of the current dilemma, or dark pit or a way down off the mountain. Story is the key.

Sometimes reading can help you find your dreams again. It’s easy to lose them. Sometimes they need to be refashioned and refurbished. Sometimes you need to believe that it’s okay to start dreaming again.

Bibliotherapy Can Pave the Way for a Career Change

One huge advantage of the days we live in is the ability to pivot professionally, or even change career paths completely.

The crossroads in life are often a good time to transition into a new career. There’s lots of ways to get information about the field you’re interested in, but reading is one of the best.

Every field has it’s experts and gurus, the mentors who are willing to take on new disciples and will share their knowledge and experience. Reading their body of work is a great way to immerse yourself in a new field.

Reading someone’s else’s journey helps you avoid pitfalls and find shortcuts. Absorbing the knowledge of those on the cutting edge helps you become ready to blaze the trail when you exhaust all of the known entities.

There will always come a time when you reach the end of current knowledge and understanding. Then it’s your turn to make the mistakes, gain the experience and pass on the conclusions to those who come behind.

Bibliotherapy Can Help You Start a New Hobby

A great advantage of being an adult is that you can choose to learn whatever you want. No one is picking out the course of study and the books you should be reading. You can follow your interests, passions and curiosity wherever they lead.

There’s something to be said for doing things for the pure joy of them. Not for money, not for evaluation, but for pure enjoyment.

What are you interested in? What are you curious about? What creative outlet entices you? Would you like to garden? Sew? Learn a musical instrument or new language? How about music or painting? Restoring old furniture or re-decorating your house?

A great way to jump into a new hobby is to research it and stack up a pile of books on the subject. Some areas change and develop so fast that printed books can’t keep up. Fortunately, there’s many ways to consume information on quickly changing fields on the internet and through ebooks.

One hobby in particular is a natural outgrowth to reading: writing. There are many types of writing and so many ways to develop that hobby. But, one thing for sure: reading a lot will help you become a better writer.

Printed books from traditional publishers have the advantage of good editing. What you’re reading there will be at a higher standard. That will influence your own output. Correct grammar will sound right. A wealth of vocabulary will be at your fingertips. You can absorb great writing just by having it swirling around in your head.

Bibliotherapy Can Improve Your Physical Heatlh

Reading might not be the first thing you think of when you set out to improve your health. Diet and exercise might come to mind first. But our bodies are marvelously complex. There’s so much to learn about the building blocks to health, especially if you’re dealing with specific issues.

Sometimes you start with symptoms and pain. Reading can help you diagnose the problems.

I suffered with migraines that robbed me of a couple of days almost every month. It’s been a long journey to discover root causes. I owe a debt to my sister, a medical professional, for pointing me in the right direction and knowing which tests to order.

After discovering I had Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, I looked around a bit before I stumbled on Izabella Wentz’ work on the internet and got a couple of her books. They helped me understand so much about how the thyroid worked and what was wrong and how that caused the symptoms. Best of all, they outlined changes I could make in my diet– foods to avoid, foods to add, as well as vitamin and mineral supplements that help.

After you have a good diagnosis, dig into some good resources to solve your problem. It might not be the first expert or guru you come across. You might have to search a while before you find someone who lines up with your philosophy and whose approach you agree with.

You might even have to try a few different approaches before you find one that works for you. Finding out what doesn’t work is still a step forward, just like Thomas Edison and all the ways NOT to make a light bulb.

A problem solved will make the effort worthwhile.

Bibliotherapy Can Contribute to Better Sleep

Sometimes the hardest part about getting to sleep is shutting down the brain from it’s swirling. Anything you can do to focus your mind on one thing helps you drift off. Reading does it admirably.

When the tasks of the day are done, or you’ve run out of time and energy to do more, reading is a great way to prepare the body for sleep. Besides slowing the heart rate and reducing muscle tension, reading can focus your mind long enough to shut down the brain swirling to help you get drowsy and go to sleep.

“‘I can’t shut my mind off’ is one of the most common phrases I hear from the patients that come to my sleep clinic,” says Chris Winter, medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center

In a Huffington Post article, he suggests creating a before bedtime routine with sleep-promoting activities like reading a book.

The best part of before bedtime reading is you can consciously choose what you’re going to think about. You can turn off the worry, regret or shame that will pound you and keep you awake. You can choose to read something uplifting that will encourage and inspire. You can choose to read something compelling– a story that will suck you in.You can even choose your mood.

Bibliotherapy Can Improve Your Mental Health

William Nicholson said, “We read to know we’re not alone.” There’s something encouraging about knowing that others have survived what you’re going through. They know how you feel. They found hope and persevered.

One way to combat depression is to regain perspective. A great way to step back and get a panoramic view of your problems is to crawl into someone else’s skin. See life through their eyes. Realize how much you have to be thankful for and the real size of your problems. See where you fit in to the timeline of world history. Our lives are just a blink. The things we worry and stress about often are not worth the mental energy we spend on them.

Reading about someone else’s reality puts our problems into perspective. Seeing them overcome problems gives us hope.

Negative thinking is an easy pit to slide into. When you choose to read uplifting books you choose to think uplifting thoughts.

A more directive way your reading can improve your mental health is to read self-help books related to whatever issue you wrestle with currently.

David McCullough said, “you read nonfiction to learn the truth about history. You read literature to learn the truth about human nature.”

The Next Step

Are you convinced yet? The benefits of bibliotherapy are legion. Time to jump in to some great books.

But where to start? I’ve curated a few book lists that you might like.

How about 8 Novels to Rekindle your Love for Reading? How about Fascinating Novels Inspired by the Lives of Real People?

Where are you going to find those books you love? I wrote about that.

What if you just don’t have time to read? Wrote about that, too.

There’s just no good reason you can’t be reaping all the benefits of bibliotherapy. Why not take the advantage to ramp up your reading life? Jump in!

So, in which arena do you want to succeed? Professional success? Lasting and meaningful connections with family? Pursuing personal interests for the pure joy of it? Do you want to succeed in managing your stress? Do you want to succeed in personal growth?

Can reading really get you there? I believe it can. But the real question is how can reading lead to success? Reading leads to success when you read in your field, read as a family, read to solve problems, read outside of your field and read self-help.

Reading together to make lasting connections

Sarah Mackenzie from Read Aloud Revival has a lot to say about making meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books. She literally wrote the book on it.

There’s something about the shared experience of reading together that binds a group together. There’s inside jokes and the shared memories of taking the journey together. 

We used to read to as a family on road trips.  We logged a lot of miles on those trips and we read a lot of books. 

The best books capture the attention of kids and adults, because as CS Lewis says, “I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.”

Reading to your kids increases empathy

Stories introduce kids to people in a variety of circumstances, some will be greatly different from their own. They will have the opportunity to walk a mile in their moccasins. They can crawl into their skin and see life from their perspective and have empathy for the difficulties they face.

Reading in our formative years shapes us

Ben Carson, in his autobiography, Gifted Hands, credits reading to putting him on the path to success. His mother required Ben and his brother to read on a regular basis and limited their television viewing. They even wrote book reports for her to check. Somehow, she was able to hide from them that she was functionally illiterate herself.

Books opened up new worlds for Ben. He began exploring topics that interested him. He began succeeding in school. Eventually, his academic success led him to medical school. He enjoyed a brilliant career as a pediatric neurosurgeon.

His life story illustrates the truth of Kathleen Kelly’s quote from You’ve Got Mail.

“The books you read as a child influence you in a way that no other reading in your life ever does.”

Growing up, I read biographies that impacted me. I read fiction that impacted me. I identified deeply and personally with the books that I read.

If you want to grow as a human, read self-help

Strengthen your mental, emotional, spiritual or physical health

Reading is a great way to improve your health in all aspects.  To start with, you can read books that are written to help you improve your health.  Mental health profesionals, pastors, doctors and counselors as well as ordinary people who tell of their own experiences.  So many resources that can serve as a guide for you to improve your health in any aspect. 

The truth is, we need the wisdom of the ages. We can’t rely only what people are saying today. We need the classics that have stood the test of time, the ebb and flow of history, and have proven true through the years. In this way, we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before.

The best way to do this is to read what they’ve written, and put it to the test for our generation.

In this way, we are no longer limited by geography or even the era we are born into. We can enter into the conversation that has been expounding for centuries.

We need to wrestle with the deep thoughts and form our own conclusions.

Thinking is hard work. It’s easier to let someone else do it for us. To just trust them and swallow it whole without question. But, someone needs to be brave enough to cross-examine the status quo, to question the logic and see if its sound.

To to this, we must read.

In order to be original thinkers, we must read. To join the conversation, we must read. If we are to be influencers, we must read.

We were educated by reading. Now we teach by writing. Even though mediums of communication are changing, books endure.

If you want to lower your stress, read engaging books

Sometimes the best way to experience our own emotions is to borrow them from a character in a story or identify with the life story of a real person.  

Vicariously experiencing someone else’s emotions can be a bridge to our own emotional health. 

Borrow the courage from the heroes of the the stories you’re reading

Some stories are called inspiring for a reason.  Watching someone else, real or fictional, scale the mountain or fight the dragon or win the war can inspire us to fight our own dragons. We can borrow their courage after seeing their victories and successes.  We can stand on their shoulders to reach heights impossible without their example. 

Develop empathy for those in different circumstances than your own

There’s nothing like reading someone else’s story for getting your focus off yourself.  Finding out what it’s like to walk in their moccasins will change you, if you let it.  Getting down in the trenches with them will help you develop empathy for the lives they live and the circumstances they face.  

It’s all possible through the miracle of reading. 

If you want to pursue personal interests, read to satisfy your curiosity

Diagnose problems that you have and find solutions by first starting with the pain or symptoms

One of our kids was struggling with reading in first and second grade. In the quest to find out why, we took him first to the eye doctor.  His eyes were fine. 

Then we started asking educational experts. Why is this a struggle?  What’s the problem?  What can we do to help? 

Finally a special needs teacher suggested we look into dyslexia. After an evaluation and a positive diagnosis, the search for help began. Thanks to the internet, we were able to find an approach that was much more effective than the program they were using at school.  

I learned so much about dyslexia in that search.  It’s fascinating the way the mind of dyslexics work and the extraordinary abilities they have because of it. 

So many things I would have never known without stumbling down that rabbit hole out of necessity. 

Evaluate different approaches to the same problem

If you start with the symptoms or the pain, you might end up with varying conclusions to what is at the root.  

But, even if you correctly diagnose a problem you’re facing, you still might have many different ways to address it.  

So many of those approaches are at your fingertips, or will at least point you in the right direction to get started.  Again, finding the right expert might be the hard part when they say different things. 

If you want professional success, read in your field

Expand your knowledge

There’s nothing like reading to just gather knowledge. It’s an efficient way to increase your knowledge about almost anything. Warren Buffet claims to have read 500 to 1000 pages a day and has for decades. He credits his success to this ability to consume knowledge.

“You know what you’ll probably find on a successful (read: rich) person’s nightstand?Books.

But not just any books, according to Tom Corley, the author of “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits Of Wealthy Individuals.” His research finds that rich and poor people alike are cracking their fair share of spines, but the key difference is that less financially successful people read for entertainment, while rich people read for self-improvement.”–Libby Kane, What Rich People Have Next to Their Beds for Business Insider

Learn things you never knew before

Reading can open up whole new worlds for you, worlds that exist and worlds that are imagined.

Become an expert in any area that you want to study on your own

In high school, my son developed an interest in aquaponics, where plants and fish form a symbiotic relationship. He started building little systems and then bigger systems. He researched, he shopped, he asked questions, he downloaded ebooks. Over the past four years he’s gained a wealth of information in the area of aquaponics. He’s tried a lot of things that haven’t worked and a few that have.

Aquaponics is one of a million interests that you can pursue and gain expertise in by reading. Of course, there’s more ways to access information than ever before. Accessing the information usually isn’t the hard part. The curiosity that drives the research is what’s rare.

If you want to expand your brain, read outside of your field

Educate yourself into a new career

Formal education is not the only path to success. You can be self-taught. You can orchestrate your own education by hiring experts and trainers to impart their knowledge.

Get to know people in different areas of expertise

Once you dive into a field, you start to learn who the gurus are, which philosophies of thought they ascribe to, and who their disciples are. You start to learn which circles they run in, who their network is and who they’re following.

Who should you trust? 

How can someone earn your trust? 

It will take time. 

A good clue is the company they keep. Who endorses them. Who do they reference? Which circles do they travel in? Who’s in their network?  Or are they a lone wolf with no connections? It’s hard to build credibility on your own. It’s better for someone else to vouch for you. What people say about themselves doesn’t hold as much weight as what other people are saying about them. It’s a good way to find out who to trust. Experts in the field can recommend other experts in the field.  

Trust is the scarcest commodity.  

Sharpen your writing, thinking and communication skills 

There’s nothing like reading to challenge your brain. Without realizing it, you can pick up speech patterns and logical reasoning.  That’s on top of increasing your vocabulary and general knowledge.

Extensive reading can prepare you for better writing. You know instinctively what sounds right and what sounds wrong. Subconsciously, you can pattern your writing after your favorite authors.

Other forms of communication, such as speeches, videos or email, are enhanced when our writing is influenced by what we read.

Deep work and deep thinking are a lost art. There’s nothing like great books to help us rediscover it.

How do you find the books you need?  Sometimes just googling or searching on Amazon isn’t enough. You might have to do more research.  

Sometimes people you read will introduce you to other people you need to read. Check the bibliographies if you’re reading non-fiction and trying to learn something new in a new area. Primary research is going to be more accurate than secondary research.  

Many successful people credit their success to reading voraciously and discriminately. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are often touted as great readers. Bill Gates offers his favorite book recommendations online and on you tube.

Stimulate your brain rather than let it stagnate

There are activities that are passive as far as the brain is concerned and those that are active. Depending on what kind of reading you’re doing, reading can be very active. 

Even fiction.

We read fiction to find truth. And all the best fiction rings true and we know it when we hear it. We’re drawn to it, because it expresses the very truth that we could not express for ourselves.

Non-fiction stretches us by challenging us to new thoughts and ideas. We can learn from history. We can learn from all the leaders in all the fields– philosophers and economists, preachers and politicians, business men and teachers. They all have something to say.

You can create the life you love by choosing what you read. Focus on the dark or focus on the uplifting. Dive into the limitless knowledge of the ages or learn the cutting edge advances that are happening today. Choosing what to read is choosing your path to success.