How to Read More (Without Adding Hours to Your Day)
“So many books, so little time.”
This phrase has never made so much sense as it does now. Gone are the days when I could read at any time of the day, whenever I felt like it. Today, reading requires intention. It requires creating time. But does it really make sense to take on reading challenges? And since when did reading become an act of vanity? How can we — truly — make space for books in our routines? That’s what I want to talk to you about in this post.
Reading challenges: yes or no?
Last year, I wrote that I wasn’t going to take part in reading challenges — the kind where you set a number of books to read throughout the year. I explained why in that post, and I still feel exactly the same way. One thing is counting how many books we read. Another, very different thing, is turning reading into a rigid goal that forces us to “work” to hit a number and leaves us unmotivated when we fall short.
It’s true that these challenges can have a positive side: they can encourage us to read more. But it’s also easy to fall into the trap of reading just to tick boxes, picking up books we’re not even interested in, simply to “win” (win what, exactly? I’m still trying to figure that out).
I speak from experience — I’ve been there. And that’s why I feel I’ve earned the right to say: that’s ridiculous.
If you’ve ever caught yourself in that mindset, think with me: what value is there in reading 40, 50, or 100 books in a year… if we didn’t even enjoy them that much, if we rushed through them just to cross titles off a list? I’d risk saying: none.
And book clubs?
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of joining an in-person book club, with conversations about books around a table. I haven’t done it yet — at least not in that traditional form — but the Páginas Salteadas project was, and still is, one of the closest experiences to that (and one of the dearest to me).
Recently, I decided to join the Creativity Book Club, led by Rafaela Mota Lemos and held once a month at the Fable bookshop in Lisbon.
It’s a book club with a very special focus: exploring books that fuel creativity, critical thinking, and personal expression. More than discussing plots, it’s about diving into ideas, provocations, and inspirations that books awaken in each participant. The welcoming atmosphere of Fable makes it all even more magical — almost as if we were having a conversation inside a book.
The vanity of reading
Being proud of the books we read is great. Reading should always be a source of pleasure, not pressure. But lately I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon, especially on social media: people lamenting that they’ve “only” read thirty-something books in a year.
Reading is not a marathon. It’s not a competition. At least, it shouldn’t be.
Before Instagram and TikTok, nobody talked like that. Nobody was counting books as if they were points in an invisible championship. And the funniest thing? Showing others how much we’ve read doesn’t actually give us anything in return. The compliments are fleeting. Nobody goes to bed thinking: “Wow, that person read 47 books this year.” Let’s be honest.
If you’re going to take on a challenge this year, let it be this one:
Read whatever you feel like, in whatever time it takes.
But then… how can we read more with the time we have?
If you really want to know how to fit more reading into your day-to-day, here are two simple — and effective — tips.
📖 Tip #1: Create your time
Just like we make time to go to the gym, to watch a show, or to grab a coffee, we can also make time to read. Set a commitment: 10 pages a day, 30 minutes without distractions, or whatever makes the most sense in your routine. Don’t wait for time to magically appear — it has to be created.
📖 Tip #2: Choose books that truly attract you
Don’t follow trends, pretty covers, or Instagram hypes just for the sake of it. Read what calls to you, what excites you even before you open the first page. It’s much easier to stick to the habit when we’re genuinely enthusiastic about what we’re reading.
You know that feeling of buying a new book and counting the minutes until you can have a quiet moment to dive into the first pages? That’s what matters. That’s what keeps us going.
Reading more doesn’t have to be a stressful goal or a race against the clock. It can — and should — be a simple pleasure, intentionally woven into our routines. We don’t need to read more books, but rather to read with more presence. If we know how to choose well what we read and carve out little moments for it, we’re already winning. After all, what really matters is not the quantity, but the impact each book leaves on us.
