20 Tips to Cultivate a Reading Culture in Your Home (for you and your family!)
/
Since I was young, I remember spending my summers lounging on the couch whittling away the hot days with a good book. During the school year, I always had a book in my desk that I popped out after doing my work. And library day at school was one of my favorites—scribbling my name on the checkout card for the next Nancy Drew book on my list ;)
I’ve always loved to read. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine a life without reading or escaping into a good book. But, I know for many reading isn’t really their thing. Or they might enjoy reading, but prefer doing something else with their free time. Or, like me in many seasons, find it hard to gravitate towards a book when your mind (and body) is exhausted.
But I truly believe that creating a reading culture in your home and for yourself is a gift that can enrich your life and those around you. Especially as our culture moves faster, reading can help us pump the breaks a bit and slow down. It’s not about reading 100 books a year, or spending hours reading aloud, or buying every cute book you see. It’s simply prioritizing and setting aside time to read—whether for 15 minutes or an hour (or more!). Just like exercise, even just fifteen minutes consistently can create lasting results and benefits :)
For many of you, these tips will be things you do already. For others, you might add a few to your arsenal of tricks. And for some, it might just be that helpful shove (or nudge) you need to build up this habit for yourself and for your family.
I’m going to start with some tips for prioritizing your personal reading:
Always have TBR (to be read) list. Always. I use Goodreads to keep track of what I want to read, but you could also just write out a list. I also like to have one book in my hand and another ready to read—that way, I don’t find myself at a roadblock and wondering what to read next when I finish a book.
Read a variety of books at the same time. For example, I read a non-fiction book during my quiet time in the morning. I alternate between theology books and Christian biographies. Next, I have fiction book that I'll pick up during the day or before bed. Finally, I have an audiobook that I listen to during house tasks, cooking dinner, or on solo drives. Generally, I stick with fiction for my audiobooks.
Put your books where you see them. I’ll often bring my book from my nightstand to my kitchen counter or side table where I can more easily spot it during the day. This makes it more likely for me to pick it up and read for a few minutes.
Pair reading with something else you enjoy (like a foot soak, snack, coffee break, or bath). In the summer, you’ll often find me outside sipping on a fizzy drink and munching on a little snack with a good book. Sometimes we all just need that little something to entice us to slow down for a few minutes with a book.
Listen to an audiobook while doing chores or walking. Listening to audiobooks is not cheating—it is benefitting you (and it can make those chores just a little more entertaining!).
Ditch a book you aren’t into. I used to be bull-headed and would finish a book I wasn’t into just for the sake of finishing it (unless I was uncomfortable with the content). Now, if I’m not feeling it after a few chapters, I’ll put it down and try something new.
Switch up genres. I love a good historical fiction book. But recently, I felt like every book I picked up was WW2 historical fiction. And I had had enough, so I switched to some present day settings and other historical periods. It was refreshing and just what I needed to jumpstart my reading again.
Be a part of a book club (or start one). A book club is not only fun, but also keeps you accountable. And then you get to have the joy of sharing about that book you loved (or didn’t…) with others.
Recognize and deal with distractions and obstacles to reading. We all are guilty of discovering that twenty minutes of our day was sucked down the social media vortex. Or we find ourselves so exhausted at the end of the day that we can hardly keep our eyes open. With anything, if we want to prioritize something, it often means we have to make space for it. For me, giving myself more boundaries around social media has freed up a lot more space and time for reading.
Bring your book to appointments or when you know you’ll need to wait. Doctor appointments and car pool lines aren’t so terrible when I’ve got a good book to whip out.
Now I’m going to switch gears and share some ways we’ve created a reading culture in our home. For me, one of my greatest gifts from homeschooling has been teaching my kids to read and also enjoying so (so, so, so) many wonderful books with my boys. As much as I love it, it doesn’t mean that we spend hours reading together or even do it everyday. Like anything, it takes consistency and intentionally to keep up this culture in our home. But, I think it is absolutely worth it!
Here are some tips for creating a reading culture in your home and as a family:
Read to your kids (as consistently as you can). I know this is common sense, but it can often get sidelined during busy seasons. Even if it’s just a few picture books a day or a chapter of a read aloud or an audiobook in the car—keep at it!
Use that library card. The librarians know me and my kids by name—because we go there A LOT. The local library is such a wonderful resource! I also like to reserve books ahead of time and then pick them up—it gives me more time so browse and also makes sure that I have a number of quality reads to haul home.
Build a curated home library with a variety of good books. I love to have our favorites on hand to read—and over the years, we’ve added a lot of books :) I almost always buy books used. A few times a year, I take time to purge the books that we really don’t read or grabbed on a whim at the store (and then realized they weren’t our favorite).
Keep books accessible. The more books they see, the more they’ll read or be likely to sit and look at them. We have baskets or shelves in every room. And there always seem to be books on the floor, beds, under couches, on tables, etc. They migrate everywhere—Ha!
Rotate books. I’ll often go through our books, put some away, and then freshen up the shelves and baskets with books that have been out of sight for a while. Suddenly, they are interested in looking at and reading those books again ;)
Start a book club with your older kids. My oldest is 10, and he sometimes wanders off while I read to the younger guys (especially if he’s already read the book on his own). So, we decided to start a mom/son book club. We each read a book separately and then get together over a treat to talk about it. We take turns choosing the book. I have absolutely LOVED connecting with him through our love of reading. I do this with my son, but we are also part of a local kid’s book club and that has been wonderful too!
Pair reading aloud with food. My boys will never say no to a snack—and suddenly reading time becomes much more appealing to them! We’ve had many wonderful memories around the table or outside on a blanket with a good book and a simple snack.
Cater to your kids’ interest. Find those books they enjoy and supply them with a steady stack of books you’ll know they’ll enjoy. However, I like to sneak in something new/different for them too (and often play it cool and not be too pushy about reading it). My oldest is into history and adventure books, my middle guy loves comics and funny books, and my youngest just loves anything with a car, dinosaur, dragons, tacos, or trucks.
Listen to an audiobook during car rides or lunch time. I love when we all share in the experience of listening to a book together. I do like reading aloud, but I also love behind able to sit back and listen too :)
Model reading. If you want your kids to read, it often starts with what they see. I actually love to do this because it means I get to pull out a good book in the middle of the day. I especially love when one of my kids snuggles in next to me with their own book they are reading or looking at.
I hope that some of these tips were helpful for you! I have many more, but I figured it might get to be a little too much—ha!
Let me know what you’ve been reading to your kids or on your own. I’m always wanting to add to that TBR list ;)
Ps. I share some of our tip top favorites on my @thelanternlibrary instagram account
Pss. Be sure to check out the seasonal book lists on the free resources page. Sometimes all we need is a good recommendation to ignite that reading habit again!
