I don't know what it is about this year but I'm just not that interested in setting any New Year goals. It's probably all a corporate conspiracy to increase gym memberships anyway. But I ran across a blog post today that peaked my interest. You can read the full post here. In it the Author details his goal to read more in 2014.
The original post has 10 rules, I'm just going to focus on the rules that stuck out to me the most
Rule 3) Forget paying for shit, download book samples instead
Simply the best way to get the underpinning and most crucial thoughts in a book fast.
I'm not sure why I don't do this more often. If a book is good, I have no problem paying for it, but there's a lot of crap to weed through. Also I don't end up with the guilt of abandoning a book if I only read the sample and ditch the rest.
Rule 6) Save more money and do none of this (actually go to a library)
You can even meet actual real-life people here too.
But you’ll probably regret it.
I just can't read a book from the library (#firstworldproblems), my OCD wont allow me to read dirty old books that have been shoved in the back pocked of a greasy haired book worm. No offence to greasy haired book worms.
Rule 8) Set yourself time markers (25 minute chunks on different subjects)
Because you don’t want to get stuck in that obsessive loophole of thinking you have to finish a shitty book. Nor do you want the guilt of leaving something unfinished.
Rule 9) Construct reading parameters (like skimming and giving up on crappy narrative)
Imperative to your process. Consistency leads to conquer.
I think these rules stuck out to me the most. I hate feeling the need to finish a book – setting time limits and skimming seems like a reasonable approach.
Reading more has been on my mind quite a bit lately (Speed Reading). I love to learn and reading is an unavoidable necessity to educating yourself. I may consider setting a reading goal for myself this year, but no promises.
