My reading journey

Background.

In autumn 2023, I decided I wanted to read more, as I had got out of the habit. I had many unread Kindle and Audible books and 2 or 3 physical books. I tried to set aside time in my day to read, which looked like:

• 20 minutes at breakfast time for Audible, instead of having the TV on (I was the only person up in the household)
• 20 - 60 minutes in the evening to read the Kindle or physical books
• Up to 1 hour for Audible before going to sleep (yes I did occasionally fall asleep listening)

The Audible books were starting to be read but I infrequently read the Kindle or physical books, so I needed to rethink my strategy. 

New strategy.

For 2024, I set a goal of reading 24 books, this accounted for the Amazon First Reads monthly book and my Audible credit. For the Kindle or physical book, I decided to read at my break times at work (2 x 15 minutes. In my lunch hour, I was watching TV).

I managed this well, it was only really interrupted during school holidays when my workday was not as strict as during term time. I ended up smashing the target, I hit 24 at the end June and read 48 throughout the year. 

What I realized was that I was getting 2 books from Amazon First Reads, as they usually offer a bonus short read and I was looking out for 2 for 1 deals for my Audible credit. I was quite happy to read what was on offer to broaden my reading. My Kindle wish list consisted of not yet published books, which I was happy to buy upon release. My Audible wish list ended up being about 14 books long though.

For 2025 I settled on 30 books for a goal, 48 (or 50 to round it up) felt like too much pressure, as it was nearly 1 a week. I thought this would takeaway reading for pleasure and leave reading as a chore for me. 30 I thought was a relaxed goal, as I'd already managed more in 2024. 

Changing relationship.

In 2025, I read 70 books and my relationship with them started to change. 

1. Not reading new books, that I bought, immediately on release led me to decide not to buy them on release. One that I read about 6 months after release ended up being 99p on Amazon about 3 weeks after I had finished it. I was annoyed about how much I had paid and decided I wasn't going to pay the higher price again, except for the ones I already had preordered (only 3) and couldn't be bothered to cancel.
2. I was made redundant from my job. I had more time to read at home and had less disposable income to spend on books.
3. My new job is at the local library, so I started borrowing the occasional book from there. I saw a book waiting to be shelved, that I had considered buying and chose not to. I borrowed it and found that I much preferred reading a physical book to either a Kindle or Audible one.

For 2026, I made a goal to borrow more library books. I have so far read 17 library books out of the 46 books I have read this year (by 6 Sept). Last year, I read 4 library books. 

I cancelled my Audible subscription in May because I lost interest in listening to them. I have 1 Audible book left but I have read it in another format already, so I'm not bothered about reading it again right now. If I decide to listen to books again, I will start by using BorrowBox or uLibrary, which are available through my public library.

I have tried to change how much I read in one sitting too. I used to read greedily because I was so engrossed and wanted to know what happened. I have found that I enjoy the books more though if I read small chunks. 

For the library books, I have them for 3 weeks. I divide the page numbers by 20 days to give me a rough idea of how much to read at a time. This way I finish it before the return date. For the Kindle books, I try to read 5-10% at a time. I only read one book at a time now that I am not using Audible. This doesn't always work, I do sometimes end up reading much more than what I have allocated per day. This is a work in progress.

What I do now.

I caught up on my to be read 'pile', which was my original goal. I now have 3 wish lists:

1. The remainder of my Audible wish list - the library has all of the titles in physical format. The 14 mentioned earlier is now down to 5. I will eventually borrow them.
2. What I can get from the library already, as they are on the library catalogue.
3. A wish list on Amazon combining books that are old or have not yet been published and I don't think the library will want to purchase them. The old ones the library has probably had them and then taken them out of stock because there was no demand anymore. The not yet published ones tend to be part of a series and the library doesn't already have the earlier ones, so I have no reason to think they will purchase the new one. I'm not going to request them because why would the library buy a random book 3 of a series, when they don't have the others.

I keep an eye out for the prices on my Amazon wish list titles and try to buy them at 99p. I also check charity shops to see if they have a copy for me to buy, as they are normally no more than £1.50.

I still have an Amazon Prime subscription and continue to get the Amazon First Reads. I choose something from the list even if I end up not reading it or start it and don't finish it. Until now I have always taken the bonus short read too, this month's is one I know I won't read, so I haven't downloaded it.

Finally.

Finally, my to be read books stand at 4. I have my current library book, 2 Amazon First Reads and a wish list book that is currently 99p, so I bought it. I have spent £4.97 on Kindle and physical books this year, this doesn't include the Amazon First Reads, as they are part of the Amazon Prime subscription.