How To FINISH Every Book You Start - My Daily Reading Routine

The title of this video is "How To FINISH Every Book You Start". Well, I would advise you all NOT to even attempt that. The world is full of books that don't DESERVE to be finished. And the second you realize you're reading one of them - that's it. You're done. In the immortal words of the late, great Dorothy Parker: "This is not a book to be lightly tossed aside. It should be thrown with great force."

Hot take but over the years I’ve found that the books I don’t read in a frenzy are usually never worth me slugging through to finish them. So now my philosophy is that life is too short to read books I don’t actively want to finish with every page I read. Of course you’re right that no matter what you studied, there never comes a point where you can stop reading. But once you’re out of school and no longer dictated to by a curriculum, surely you can be free to choose the books you want to read and skip the ones that don’t interest you enough to continue organically

By reading it.

I try to read when I can. This not only distracts, but also helps to maintain common sense and not to go crazy.
I bought books that I plan to read in the future: "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann, "King Lear" and "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, I also bought several books by Ukrainian authors.
It may seem silly, because right now I hear explosions, but on the other hand, by buying books and planning to read them, I am thus confirming my faith in the future...
The fact is that I live in Ukraine and our city has been shelled by Russian troops almost every day for more than two months, they are killing the civilian population. For example, last Saturday, starting in the morning, three Russian drones hit a hospital, and another hit a residential building. As a result, 9 civilians were killed, 21 people were injured, and houses were destroyed.
Last night, the Russian army, using ammunition prohibited by the Geneva Convention, set fire to the forest around our city - it is impossible to breathe. So they try to kill peaceful people.
Therefore, in order not to lose my mind, I try to read.
Thanks for the video and great tips!

Another thing is that, people really get influenced by what others read - I know you've talked about this in a video which was posted really long ago, but people still neglect it - I am all in with trying new things, new genres etc. But if you find that it's not for you, just leave it. I've seen people torture themselves for the sake of validation, that yes, I've read this book. Suppose I like to read books which challenge me to really break down things, that does not mean that you have to suffer through it, there is nothing wrong with not liking something. And if someone really wants to do that, I'd help them but as long as they show immense interest in the same.
great video !

Actually the hardest part for me is getting into it. Yes it is exciting starting a new book but I don’t know the characters, I keep confusing people for 10-20 pages. It is easier to go back into a book you know. But if I drag out the book, getting out of my habit it is difficult to finish. I feel like it is important, at least for me, to ride the wave in the middle, reading every single day.

We like the rabbit holes! Feels like listening to a friend

I read a few pages of poetry every morning, while still in bed, before everything. It makes every day a little more special. Then I read at breakfast, commuting, and before sleep ( in bed again). Usually I'm reading simultaneously poetry, non fiction and some narrative.

I am a mood reader, I can’t pick up a book as part of a reading system. Sometimes a book may seem boring but I usually try to finish as I hate not finishing stuff.

Would love to hear some ideas for reading more poetry… I am wondering now if they might be fundamentally different from prose reading habits. Thanks for a great video.

I recently got a stack of Stephen King novels just to jump-start my daily reading. I'm retired, so nothing but time enough, and easy/fun literature is getting me into the habit of reading. So far, it's working well.

Thanks Robin for shedding light on "under-reading". I love this approach. It can be pretty satisfying to limit yourself to reading 12-15 pages a day and on really good days, get another ~10 -12 in!

“Divide it up into ridiculously small chunks”… That, my friend, is the fundament of calculus, which subsequently enables us to model and understand nature. Mathematics is like reading the Iliad 😂

I know you haven’t done your audiobook video yet, but I want to hear what you think about Ulysses and audio. Normally I would think that it’s too dense to listen to, but so many people say that the way into it is to listen to it, or read it out loud (especially if you’re a Dubliner).

do you have a job?

That is so, so true, you can't base reading (or any other activity, for that matter) on pure motivation alone. Routine and consistency are the keys, but also not being harsh on ourselves if things don't go to plan. Just try again and you'll get there ✨

Hello, hello, I came across this video and the first problem reminded me to a reaaaally short story by Jorge Luis Borges called "La biblioteca de Babel" (I believe in English is called "The Library of Babel") and despite I always recommend reading his work because I believe he is one of the most prolific and interesting authors in the world, not only in Argentina; it's a great portrait of what wanting to read can become or can feel as a Literature graduate. I hope the recommendation finds someone ❤

Concentrated Reading, everyday and creating it a routine . The duration itself doesnt matter

I always enjoy your videos! interesting space make a house tour if you wish or share favorite books.

If you want to finish every cool you start, keep reading them.

Deliberately under reading
Sounds like an interesting approach

Like making it as simple and easy in the beginning as possible but over time you get momentum to do more

Or like Kaizen

Unpopular opinion....not every book needs or even deserves to be finished. Keep that book down girl, its okay.

Great voice. You should be using that.

Do you have a video on what to start reading as a beginner reader? If you just want to get smarter and become a better reader?

Doesn't it make more sense if we concentrate on the work of a specific author or on a specific era when reading?

The principals of this remind me of the book Atomic habits by James clear .. but when I read AH.. I didn’t think k if applying to reading! So I will now !

Great video - I needed this. Going to post this on my X account

Interesting idea. My first video of yours, but I’m intrigued. From May until late fall I take my coffee and daily podcasts outside to the patio when I get up. I have struggled to think of a potential winter routine to replace it. I have a difficult time picking up non-fiction and getting more than 25 or 50 pages in before setting it aside permanently. I may try 15 minutes of coffee and my non-fiction choice. Thanks for the idea!

I’ve done something similar. Reading ten to twenty pages a day, I can finish a surprising number of books in a short time. It follows a turtle’s approach, but it works. I’ve applied this strategy to both the Old Testament and The Iliad, among other long and difficult texts. As a side note, when I do this habit before bed, I start falling asleep around page ten, like clockwork. My sleep schedule seems to conspire with my appetite for books.

I read "War and Peace" in 30 days by reading 50 pages a day. But my goal was also to READ the book, not simply FINISH the book

Currently I'm reading many books everyday. Books have like tiktok for me, whenever i open up the book, mind doesn't want to quit reading easily, it is like book addiction.

Some books that I've been reading
1. The Iliad by Homer
2. 1984 by George Orwell
3. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
5. Manuel of the warrior of light by Paulo Coelho
6. Aeneid by Virgil (Classical Latin)

As long as there are swords magic creatures and world building I’m there

I've also recently been thinking deeply about how and why I read. I read to get lost in a world, attached to characters, and to savour good writing. For the last couple of books I've been reading, I've been taking it slowly rather than focusing on finishing them quickly, and I have enjoyed reading so much more. I feel the book lives with me for longer if I read it over 2+ weeks, that I can love and absorb it and get into the world and the story with more depth. I think somehow I also just got lost in all this weird reading culture where you aim to read this many books in a certain time, annual reading goals, and star ratings (I've stopped rating books as well). But I think focusing in on what I like about reading is really important. Reading books more slowly is generally a lot more meaningful and enjoyable for me.

As an aside, I've also noticed I have more thoughts that I want to discuss when I've engaged like this (whatever the genre, from general fiction to classics to fantasy etc) and what has been outrageously fun is having a long chat with ChatGPT afterwards 😂 It's great, and even though it's an AI, it's amazing how many thoughts you have about the book that come up simply by talking about it.

I'm falling in love with reading again by not focusing on the end result (number of books I've read) but the actual process of reading.

I'm an older reader. Taken up reading more often in recent years. As a working man i was busy raising kids, working, mortgage etc.. i have the time now.

I'm reminded of someone who once posed a question of Barbara Cartland. The romance writer.

Did she write 500 books? Or one book 500 times.

I'm an older reader. More your historical history. Often set around fictional families. Uk civil war etc.

When i look at a book, i see the same plot lines, same patterns. I often read the first line of a paragraph, skim a couple of pages till the action changes. Usually the same old romance crap. Past all that. Like i said, I'm old.

Audio books are good. I'm usually asleep within an hour.

Wadiya know, by the morning, I've read another book!

Great advice. I typically read a few chapters with my morning coffee. Reading should never be competitive.

I watched you videos about why you don’t care about grades. That was like 5 years ago. Crazy.. but so nice to see you grow into a better version of yourself overtime ❤

Why on earth would you finish a book that you weren’t enjoying? That makes no sense at all.

I’m gonna try this because my life is crazy busy and takes me forever finish a book now. Thank you friend

The great thing about the "read 15 to 20 minutes a day" rule is that you will often find yourself reading more than that. This same rule can also be generalized to almost anything. Want to get into running? Start with 20 minutes every two days.

The fact that you have to begin this entire video with a disclaimer telling people you are just giving advice and it is not a one size fits all method so that people are not triggered and offended says a lot about the type of immature society we live in.

People need to be mature when listening to advice. Take what works for you. Leave what does not. Then, live your life.

If you are triggered because someone's reading plan is different than your own then you have a lot of growing up to do.

Great advice!

Thank you for this reminder! I tend to set reading goals that are to high for me and then not reach them. Consistency is key

Do you finish even the books you do not like (not because the writing is bad, but the theme does not finally appeal to you or shocks you)?