How To Pick Books For Your New Reading Habit
How To Become A Reader 101 : Part 2
In the first part of How To Become A Reader 101, I shared why you should consider reading books.
Today, we find the answer to how to pick books for your new reading habit.
The answer comes in three parts - Length, Genre and Format.
LENGTH
Not many think about this, neither did I, but when starting to pick up Reading as a hobby, you should consider the book's length.
When going down into the Reading rabbit hole, you'll find there are four kinds of lengths when it comes to fiction.
They are:
Short Story – under 7000 words / approx. 25 pages
Novelette – 7000 to 20,000 words / 25 – 60 pages
Novella – 20,000 to 40,000 words / 60 – 130 pages
Novel – 40,000 words and over / 130 pages and over
While non-fiction books are about 50,000 to 75,000 words.
When starting to build a reading habit, I would suggest starting small. The average-sized book, i.e. 60,000 – 90,000 words / 200 – 300 pages, is a good start.
Pick what you're comfortable with.
GENRE
Genre is the kind of book you want to read.
There's a lot to choose from -
Mystery
Historical Fiction
Thriller
Science Fiction
Romantic
Fantasy
Young Adult Fiction
Children's Literature
Comedy
Contemporary
These can be further broken down into sub-genre, which have now become genres of their own:
Mystery -> Mystery, Detective Fiction, Crime Fiction, Whodunnit
Thriller -> Thriller, Espionage Thriller, Adventure, Psychological Thriller, Horror, Gothic, Supernatural
Romantic -> Romantic, Erotic, Romantic-Comedy, Women's Fiction, Contemporary
Also, you'll notice that genres can be mixed with each other.
Therefore we have –
Historical Romance, Historical Drama, Historical Mystery/Thriller, YA Fantasy, YA Science Fiction, Children's + Mystery, etc.
You'll find elements of one genre-blending into another. The more creative our writers go, the more genres we get to read.
Don't get confused! It, again, comes down to your Why.
Want an action-packed ride? – Pick Thriller
Want your brain to go bonkers? – Pick Psychological Thriller
Want to have a sleepless night? – Pick Horror
Want to use your brain? – Pick Mystery
Want to feel gushy and mushy? – Pick Romantic
Want to visit another world? – Pick Fantasy
Want to play with Science? – Pick Science Fiction
Want to go back in time? – Pick Historical Fiction
When it comes to non-fiction, you get the following -
Historical
Biographies, autobiographies and memoirs
Travelogues and guides
Academic
Philosophy
Journalism
Self-help and Personal Development
How-To
Commentary
Pick what you think will interest you. That will make it easy for you to read and develop the habit of reading.
FORMATS
Here you have four mediums of indulging in the act of reading.
They are Paperback, Hardcover, Ebook, Audio Book.
Let me give you a quick overview of all four.
Paperback
Pros:
Most common format
Affordable
Easy to carry
Looks good on the shelf
Easy on the eyes
Looks good on Instagram (selfish self-promo time – check out my account here)
Smells good
Easy to mark
Treasure for Life
Cons:
It's made out of paper – it can tear, and water and food are its enemies
You might like big books, and you'll not lie, but they'll be heavy
You'll need a place to store all your paperbacks
You'll need a big bag to carry all your things AND the book
Once you fall in love with reading, you'll always carry a book with you.
Hardcover
Pros:
Most good looking format
Therefore, looks good on the shelf
and on Instagram
Smells good too
and easy on the eyes too
The lifespan of the cover and book are longer
Cons:
HEAVIEST – be prepared to have fantastic biceps
You might need taller shelves
Expensive
Ebook
Pros:
Easier to carry
Hundred, if not thousands, of books in one e-reader
Cheapest of the lot
Can read anytime – day or night
Cons:
Another tech in the house
Another device to charge
Audio Books
Pros:
Easiest to carry – always in your phone
It can be used on the go
Good when multitasking (though I wouldn't suggest this, will explain in Cons)
Have someone read you a bedtime story (it might be your favourite celebrity, just saying)
Cons:
Another app for your phone
Distracting when multitasking – nor you're fully into your task nor into the book
Hopefully, this will help you choose which format works for you. Pick what will be most convenient for you.
I personally prefer Paperback and Ebook.
A NOTE ON MONEY
My highest expenditure in a month is on books.
I buy like a crazy woman. No matter how much I try, I can never leave a bookstore empty-handed. Plus, if there's a book I want to read, I prefer having my own copy.
Books are expensive, folks. And post the worldwide quarantine, the prices have gone up.
Maybe you're a minimalist, or you don't want to spend too much on books. There are ways you can still read and not break your bank.
You could
borrow from a library
borrow from a friend
buy second-hand
buy during sales / discounted book fairs
Of course, almost all books are available on the Internet for free, but most are not through ethical paths.
Using them would be wrong to the authors who worked so hard to produce a book. Buying a book is a way of thanking the author for their work.
