Top Apps to Amp Up Your Reading
The easiest way to incorporate more reading into your life: multiple formats. It can be hard to find the time, and proper amount of light to read a physical book. Audiobooks, the Kindle app, and Scribd are the absolute best for reading on the go.
One other trick that helped me consciously change my reading habit:
Every time you get that itch for instant social media gratification, pick up a book instead!
Here are my top tech tips for cramming a few more literary works into your life.
This is my biggest tip, I try to tell everyone I meet about Overdrive (Libby is the same thing, just a different interface). All you need is a library card from your local library, and boom: FREE audiobooks. Your local library has thousands of audiobooks, and ebooks available to borrow. All you have to do is download the free app, input your library card, and browse the titles! Audiobooks and ebooks are downloaded directly to your phone, and automatically returned at the end of 21 days. No hassle, no drive to the library—simple.
It’s basically the Netflix of books. Unlimited ebooks and audiobooks directly on your phone, all for $8.99 a month. When Overdrive doesn’t have what I’m looking for—Scribd usually does. Along with ebooks and audiobooks, Scribd has a wide selection of magazines and documents making it a fantastic resource.
Bonus: You get a free 30 day trial when you sign up, test it out, you’ll be hooked.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE physical books. However, time, accessibility, and the proper amount of light play a huge factor in simply creating the possibility to enjoy them. The Kindle app is great for reading in bed at night — so much easier than holding a big book in bed or bothering your partner with a light on. Just link your Amazon account with the Kindle app, and bam: books on your phone!
Hot Tip: You don’t need to own an actual Kindle to utilize the app.
All these apps help facilitate more books in your day-to-day. Waiting in line? Boom: Kindle app. Vacuuming? Boom: Audiobook. Long drive, boom— audiobook. Bedtime? Scribd.
You get the idea. A thousand stolen moments add up to many books. Not sure I agree with her math (or her stance on audiobooks), but it has been calculated that every 1 minute a day you read = 1 book a year.
Any way you look at it, even if it’s not scrolling through social media for a couple minutes, there is time in your day to squeeze a few sentences in.
One other reading tool that has increased my reading x10 is the Goodreads app and the Goodreads yearly reading challenge. Before I became active on Goodreads, I read about 10-20 books a year. The past two years I’ve read 50, and 157 books respectively — all because of Goodreads.
