Recently, I’ve seen a number of posts in groups for women who are autistic, ADHD, and/or AuDHD from people who say they were bookworms as kids and would love to get reading again, but they aren’t sure where to start.
I was that bookworm. Growing up, I always had my nose in a book, however once I had kids, my own reading fell away for a time, until they were a bit older and I started reading again. The love of books never went away, it was more that life was overwhelming and reading had to take a back seat.
These are some of the strategies I used to get back to reading and, if you are someone who wants to get back to reading too, I hope some of these may help
- Reread an old favourite – there is no rule to say you have to read something new. A book that you have read before may feel like revisiting old friends and be a comfort read. There is also no rule to say you can’t read books that are aimed at kids. Rereading an old favourite can be a great way to ease back in to reading.
- Pick a book you find interesting – whether you visit the library, bookshop, or op shop, find a book that you think looks interesting. Ignore those ‘books to read before you die’ lists, even those on bestseller lists, find one that looks interesting to you. It could be a novel, non-fiction, or anything else. The key here is to find something you want to read.
- Join a challenge – as I started getting back to reading, I wanted some more variety, so joined the PopSugar Reading Challenge for a few years. I liked that it didn’t set books, rather had themes to help me find books I enjoyed. During those years, I read some great books, discovered some new authors, and started having fun with reading again.
- Read in a format that suits you – books come in many formats, from ebooks to paperback to audiobooks. Different formats suit different people. Experiment to see what suits you. Right now, most of my reading is via audiobook when I’m in the car. I also know I prefer a printed book rather than an ebook. I have friends who only read ebooks. Find the format that suits you.
- Find times when you can read – life can be busy. I listen to audiobooks in the car and a lot of reading paperbacks happens when I’m in waiting rooms waiting for doctors appointments. I used to read before bed, until I found I was reading way past midnight and had to get up the next day! Find times that suit you. There is nothing wrong with reading books in little snippets of time rather than reading all day, though reading all day is great too.
- Read at your own pace – if, like me, you used to read a huge pile of library books each week, and don’t any more, you may think you need to get back to that. Take heart, you can read at your own pace. If you are only able to read a page or a paragraph a day, that’s okay, you are still reading. There is no rule to say you have to read a certain number of books in a year, or a month, you can read at your own pace.
These are just a few ideas that helped me get back to reading. I now read nearly 100 books a year, but that all built up slowly over time as I got back to reading.
