How to Fall in Love with Reading Again!

A new term begins today.  Hopefully you’ve found time to read or listen to some great books during the Easter Break.  However, if you’re finding it hard to get into reading whilst in lockdown, here are a few simple strategies from author Candy Gourlay:

Take the time. Put a timer on. Fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes. Go for minutes, not hours. This is just to get into the swing of reading again. If you're serious about reading, don't pick a time when you get sleepy - though sometimes bedtime can be the only time to read. If so, try to stave off sleep by sitting up properly.

Turn everything off. Leave your gadgets in another room. Stay far away from screens and other things that may command your attention. It's only for a short time, nobody is going to miss you, and you aren't going to miss them.

This is not the time to read Anna Karenina. You are looking to re-start reading, not save World Literacy. What do you love? Something funny? Something short? Something satisfying? Romance? Crime? Thriller? Get ahead by picking something you think you might love.

If it doesn't grab you, try again. Don't waste time soldiering through a book if it isn't hooking you in. There will be another. Find it.

Remember your rights. You can skip boring bits. You can stop if you hate it.

You can read it again. You can dip in and out. You can read aloud if you feel like it.

These tips are taken from a piece Candy wrote as Writer in Residence for The Book Trust. 

Suggestion: Try reading Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay, a thrilling historical novel set in the Philippines at the end of the 1900s, shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal 2019.