3 Changes to my Reading Habits in 2020

This has been a great reading year, so far. It's nearly the end of February and I've already read 22 books, which is almost halfway to my goal of a book a week that I set in the new year. Almost half way! Two months in! Sorry about all the exclamation points, but this is exciting folks.

There are three things that I think have made a major impact on how much reading I've been able to get done, two of which other people can easily adopt, and the other... well I guess it isn't so hard but it may not be something you want to do.

The first thing that has changed in my reading is that I've started to utilize the public library system. I have a Kindle, which you can't actually use to take out books from public libraries in Canada. For some reason, it only works with Kobo. However, if you know someone with an American library card you can absolutely use it and thanks to my cousin I've been able to do just that! I use Libby to search and access the books, and then send them to my Kindle through my amazon account. Having free books on my Kindle makes it so I don't have to savour books or worry about my book budget, which would be seriously overdrawn at this point if it weren't for the public library system! There's something so exciting about getting a notification that your hold is now available. I also love the convenience of having the book automatically return when it is due (no late fees!) and the cleanliness factor (no mystery stains!).

The second thing that I've implemented this year is listening to audio books. I count them as reading. I am engaged and listening to the book, comprehending, and considering the content of the book. It isn't background noise, I am reading it. I know this is controversial, but as someone coming from an education and accessibility background (I'm currently working on my Masters in inclusive education) I 100% count audiobooks as reading. In fact, 7 of the 22 books I've read this year have been in audiobook format.

The third thing is that I am up at all hours of the night, reading in the dark, while I breastfeed my baby. Easy to do, but not for everyone! I certainly wouldn't be reading during those hours if I wasn't up anyway, but it is drastically increased the hours per day that I read. I also read while I breastfeed during the day so that I don't spend too much time aimlessly scrolling through Instagram or, more dangerously, Amazon.