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How to cultivate a reading habit

(Grace Cary/Getty Images)
Grace Cary/Getty Images
(Grace Cary/Getty Images)

Did you resolve to read more books this year and need a little help getting that going?

Host Scott Tong gets some tips from “The Stacks” podcast creator and host Traci Thomas.

Traci’s tips for building better reading habits

  • Set a daily reading goal: pages or minutes
  • Track your reading
  • Get rid of your phone
  • Read with pop culture (i.e., if there is an adaptation or event tied to a book)
  • Get social (join a book club, talk books on social media, get on Storygraph or Goodreads)
  • Set goals (these can range from page number goals to types of books to something more esoteric)
  • Put down books you don’t like
  • Attend a book event
  • Chat with booksellers and librarians
  • Share your goals and aspirations with people to hold you accountable and get book recs from

Audiobook suggestions:

  • If you’re new to audiobooks, start with a celebrity memoir or a memoir read by the author.
  • If the pace is too slow, speed up the audiobook: Scott listens at 1.3, Traci at 1.5, but will go up to 2.0 if she needs to.
  • If you’re having trouble focusing, get both the audiobook and the physical book and read along with the narration.

Book suggestions:

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

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