So it may come as a surprise to you that even though I’m a Law and Philosophy student, I’m not the biggest fan of books. Don’t get me wrong, I read a lot, and I do mean a lot, but I never used to read for fun. When I think of relaxation, or even excitement I’m probably not thinking of a book. Back in high school if it wasn’t academic I’d probably never read it or I’d fallen asleep trying to. In fact, even today though I read for fun here and there, if there’s a non-academic book anywhere near me, chances are it belongs to Abbie (chances are if anything we own looks like it belongs to a low-key genius it’s not mine it’s hers). The problem is books, and especially non-academic books, are crucial to your ability to influence the world. Academic books provide you with the principles and science behind the structures of the world’s problems and solutions. But non-academic books, tell you the context of the problems and solutions. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you need new shoes for a huge interschool’s athletic event. You’re the fastest runner in your age group and this is going to be the moment everyone sees you take on the next best runners. Your hard working mum rushes to town the day before and buys you a pair of ben 10 light-up shoes, how would you react?
It’s not that the shoes aren’t a solution, they work, and get the job done amazingly well. The problem is your mum didn’t take into consideration how you wanted the solution to be implemented and what non-essential qualities you needed. Knowing you, chances are you’d ask her to return them, and even think about running barefoot rather than having the embarrassment of those shoes.

Non-academic writers are people who write into their books the reality around them, the hopes of how things should change, and how the people around them feel about both the problems and the solutions. They tell you what type of shoe the world wants and how they’d like it to look like. They provide a context for the solution. So if you have any hope of changing the world you’re going to have to get used to reading non-academic books.

So how did I (probably the worst reader for fun out there) start to read books for fun?
I used 3 simple tricks:

1. Read With Your Senses.

Read out loud, read different characters in different accents, so your ears pick up something new. Read books with pictures (I know this is a cheap trick but my goodness does it help) find a book that’s as much a feast for your eyes as it is for your mind. Read in different or weird seating positions, clothes, or temperatures. Make your body feel like it’s in a new space when you read by sitting strangely or reading a book in weird clothes or in a place you normally don’t sit in. This way your brain feels like its in a whole other world. Every chapter find something different and sniff it. Your brain will associate the experience of that chapter with whatever it is you sniffed (I like to use different tree leaves and fruits). Try doing all of these together and chances are you won’t find yourself having to read a page more than once. Getting your senses involved in the story tends to keep your brain invested even if it wants to wonder off to more thrilling thoughts.

2. Imagine and react

Take the time to imagine the characters, places, colours, and events in the book. Go wild with the details and add your own, that way the book becomes as much your creation as it is the authors. Then once you’ve imagined don’t forget to react. I like to have dramatic reactions to everything that happens in the book, twists, surprises, funny, or even silly moments. Make a face, stand up, call your friend into the room and explain what happened.  Just like watching a show with the squad and freaking out, reading and reacting makes the experience that much more intense.

3. Don’t Lay Down.

Especially if you have a tendency to sleep when you’re bored, or if you work a lot. Don’t let your body associate the book with sleep. Laying down in your bed and reading is a definite no-no! Your brain associates your bed with sleep so don’t let it put the book in the formula, laying down also can be super tricky so try and read in a position as far away from laying down as you can.

Those are my tricks fam, it’s gonna be dicey at first but if you keep it up reading for fun can be somewhat bearable ;)