Hi guys!

Today we are going to talk about my way of picking books to read and my motivation for reading. Now I read a hell of a lot of books in my spare time. I just really love reading. I read on my phone, on my computer, on my way to work on my kindle, and just good ol’ paperbacks. Reading for me is such a great escape – I could be sat on the packed Victoria line in reality, but in my mind I’m investigating ‘The Maze’ or escaping the law because I’m a halfskin. Both of these references are from books by Tony Bertauski, one of my current favourite authors – but he will have his own dedicated post.

I have a really bad habit of buying books every time I walk into a bookshop and I end up with piles and piles of things I want to read but don’t have the time too or can’t decide on what to read next. And it’s not as if I read one solid genre – I jump between genres, from YA to hard hitting thrillers. I feel like it broadens my creative mindset and allows me to see different perspectives in works. I’m tangenting. 

So I’ve devised a really awesome way of picking what I read next. 

It all starts with a pack of post it notes and a pen. I start by writing all the books I’m interested in reading and write each title on a post it – I write it in the side where the adhesive is on the top. Once I’ve written them all out I flip them over and shuffle them about. Once shuffled I number all of them randomly and then place them in a pile – I try not to look at what order they have ended up in because i like surprises haha! I then place them on a large piece of card. It kind of looks like a book advent calendar by the end of it, but this means whenever I finish a book I just go the the next number on the list. This works for me as I never have the option to overthink a choice. But sometimes I forget what books I’ve bought and then I flip over a post it and see a title I’d completely forgotten and get excited all over again.

This method sometimes fails me if I have a whole series of books and the number I pick is the sequel to a book I’m still yet to read. Then I’m left to decide if I just grab book one or pick the next number along.

I follow a blog on here, https://bluchickenninja.com/ and she has this really awesome method on picking books to read next called a TBR jar. She writes all the names on little bits of paper and randomly picks them out of a jar. I really like this method as you are completely unaware of what could be next. Plus if done creatively you could have them in a really cute jar that’s you’ve decorated.

I feel like my motivation for reading comes from my little cousins. Their imagination is something else and they are always intrigued by even the smallest of things. When my cousin or myself read them books, the wonder in their eyes really pushes me to find myself like that when I’m reading a book. It might be their oblivious view on the world but we all need a bit of wonder.

I’ll add some visuals to this post a bit later but I’m going to post this now – I’m behind on my schedule already because I was sidetracked by my knitting yesterday. I never learn do I. 

I’ll also be adding a link to my good reads account once I remember the logins for it so you guy can keep up to date with what I’m reading and how I’m finding each book.

Hope you enjoy guys and find some really nifty ways to pick what you’re reading next! 

See you next post guys whereby I tell you how I decide my workout routine for my exercise sessions.

Eli