I love to read. Being a constantly engaged, workaholic, the only thing I find truly relaxing is sitting down with a book, so it pains me that I have somehow become so engrossed in activities of my day that i can never remember what I actually accomplished, left alone make time for an hour to read every day.
Yes, I used to read for an hour every day before I went to bed, no matter what time I went to bed or when I had to get up. And that was a personally required minimum, as if I was given the chance in the middle of the day to sit in solitude and read, be it a white paper related to some new technology for work, or a quick throw away novel I happen to stumble upon, I would take it over any other activity.
But for various reasons, I fell out of the habit of my exceptionally good reading habits, and have payed the price for it. Eventually, I learned that I was truly missing reading, both from a learning aspect and for knowing it was on of the very few sources of relaxation I get for my constantly buzzing mind. To get back on track, I came up with some tricks to increase m 'reading' in what little time I actually had.
- Audio books: Despite all attempts you have made in the past, you can't really effectively 'multi-task' because you really can't do too many conflicting actions at the same time, somethings you do that really don't take massive efforts can be combined. Take the work out of actually reading the book and purchase a book on CD or download, and 'read' while you do various things. Just like you sit in your car or at your desk singing along to music, you can keep an audio going and listen while doing many basic function of your everyday life, such as cleaning up around your house or office, filing paperwork, and the most obvious, just driving around in your car.
- E-books: The magic of having e-books (electronic files of books) is there sheer portability. You can really take them anywhere, and while pulling up a trashy novel on your laptop during a meeting while you are supposedly taking notes is not the use that I would prefer to promote, it is the general idea of being able to pull out a book just about anywhere that will help you get more reading in. While you might not be able to carry that hardback book or large case study around with you throughout your work day, chances are you can put the file on your PDA, blackberry, or smart phone and flip through a few pages as you wait for appointments, while sitting at lunch, or even at the meeting where you should be giving your full attention.
- Book Summaries & Condensed Books: My mother used to read stories to my sister and I from the Reader's Digest condensed books. it killed three birds with one stone: mom got to read the books she wanted and faster, and we got stories. There was also a better chance that we kids could understood them, since the condensed books left only what was absolutely necessary to get the point of the story across, even if it meant some of the flavor and spice gets left out of the recipe. The same thing goes for executive book summaries, written especially for busy business people who know they don't have the time to read but want to get the gist of the newest business texts.
- Shows About Books On TV/The Radio/The Internet: Don't knock those dedicated viewers of C-Span's weekend programing BookTV. Just the pure genius of finding a use for an open cable channel is impressive, but to funnel so much information on books and authors in a 48 hour period has to be a daunting task. Luckily, you don't have to stay glued to the television set from midnight Saturday to midnight Monday. Tune in when you have a spare half hour and see what authors are being showcased, or do a little research on what programing your local radio or tv station my provide to book lovers. And do not forget to search the Internet and iTunes for blogs and pod cast from book lovers around the world, looking to share with anyone for just the cost of their effort. You might have to search a lot of rough to get the diamond you are looking for, but it will be worth a quick look.
- Produce A Morning Show And Have The Authors Tell You The Gist Of The Books Themselves: Not exactly practical, but this is one of the luxury of my job that I have to draw on when I remember just how little money there is in broadcasting. The payoff is in opportunity, and I have had the opportunity to meet some of the best people with the brightest minds in the nation just by seeing a title for a new book pop up and calling the publisher to book them for the morning news show I producer for radio. I have also met some of the dullest people with most cluttered and confused minds, but that is the price you have to pay. Getting the finer points of a book told to you by the author is an experience that always brings a sense of pride and joy to on one who put in so much effort to put it all down on paper--even if the interviews can turn into agonizing events for the guy asking all the question.
If you are a person who loves reading books and doesn't have the time, or just loves the idea of reading books and are a little to lazy to do so, there are plenty of ways to glean entertainment and information from the latest tomes, in some cases with minimal effort necessary. All in all, just be determined to get you hands on more new book knowledge, and find the time to read--or at least make it seem like reading--more books.
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