Is It Possible To Read A Book A Day?

Yes, it is possible to read a book a day. You can achieve this goal by:

• Learning to speed read
• Joining a reading challenge
• Adjusting your mindset
• Shifting between genres
• Choosing books you enjoy reading
• Keeping books with you at all times
• Minimizing distractions
• Stocking up on books
• Exploiting technology
• Borrowing time from other activities

Most people do not read enough. On average, Americans read one book every year, and slightly more for the college-educated.

You may find reading challenging because you don’t have time or don’t like reading at all. Unfortunately, not reading may hinder your life or reduce your professional competitive advantage.

It is possible to read a book a day with the time you have and have fun doing it.

This article shows you how to read a book a day and shares the beneficial outcomes of doing this.

By the end of this read, you’ll have learned ten practical strategies you need to achieve your one-book-a-day goal.

Let’s dive in!

How can I train to be able to read one book a day?

If you have the skills to speed read and the discipline to study consistently, you can devour one book a day.

Reading a book daily is not just glossing over the text. It requires some effort to understand, analyze, and retain the information. 

This is especially for books that inspire you to change, grow or learn. Or for material that you will be tested in an academic setting.

In these instances, your ability to retain and recall information is paramount.

To read faster, you need to practice a variety of drills and implement a few different speed-reading techniques.

You can get started by:

• Taking this free speed-reading course that I created.
• Or, if you already know the basics, check out my Speed Reading Mastery Course.
• Additionally, you can practice some drills right now through the video below.

When you find it difficult to retain what you read, then you may need to check your sleep patterns, diet, distractions, and the type of book you’ve selected. You could also have memory issues such as shallow processing.

If the problem is memory, the Iris Reading memory improvement course can help you learn how your brain creates recollections. You will learn how to apply memory principles that improve your ability to recall information more accurately.

How do you read a book a day? (Effective tips)

You can read a book a day by speed reading, participating in reading challenges, using technology, and other strategies. 

Let’s explore each strategy in detail and share simple, practical tips to help you achieve your daily reading goal.

1. Learn to speed read

Speed reading trains your brain to pick up words in groups. This technique helps you read faster and more effectively. 

People who speed read have better comprehension and can recall information easier. Plus, speed reading gives you a competitive advantage by reducing the hours you spend reading a book.

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) is a speed reading technique that helps you read faster on a screen and more fluid on printed books.

You could also take it further by learning advanced speed reading through our guided training. 

The best techniques for speed reading are:

• Skimming a page of text
• Using a pointer or your hand
• Reading text in chunks
• Using the tracker and pace method
• Using speed reading software

2. Join a reading challenge

Reading challenges are structured to help you achieve daily and monthly weekly goals. The Iris Reading 30-day Book Challenge is structured for daily reading over 30 days.

Each day, you have a book title and speed reading goal to help you finish the book in less than a day.

Joining a reading challenge has its benefits:

• It keeps you accountable. You have a daily reading schedule that compels you to implement.
• It increases your motivation to keep at it. Knowing that other people have a similar goal as yours gives you the daily push to achieve your reading goal.
• Reading as a community is a great way to share your thoughts.
• You will find useful recommendations for other books.

Tips to help you join reading challenges:

• Enroll in a book club in your area. You can also join online book clubs to connect with readers across the globe.
• Participate in the group conversations
• Participate in the reading challenges in your book club.
• Join online reading challenges such as the 30-day Book Challenge with speed reading.

3. Change your mindset

Reading is not an arduous task. Neither is it a heavy investment.

It can take anywhere from 4 hours to 8 hours to read a book – even less if you’re a fast reader.

Instead of looking at reading as a chore or challenge, take it in chunks. Read one page at a time.

• Immerse yourself in the book. Visualize the storyline, the plot, and the characters. If it is a non-fiction book, visualize yourself implementing what is written.
• Give yourself time to hit your stride. This happens after the first couple of chapters or 50 or so pages.

4. Shift between genres

Shift between reading non-fiction and fiction books.

If you’ve been reading many self-development books, get a thriller or romantic novel.

Benefits of reading fiction stories

• It balances the required reading with some pleasure or recreational reading.
• Creates a balance between reading emotionally-intensive books with light-hearted books. Too much of one type is not good for your mental and emotional health.
• Shift between depressive reads and humorous poems or essays, so you can recharge and dump your emotions too.

5. Choose books that you’ll enjoy

Three reasons why you need to choose books you will enjoy:

• You are less likely to get bored and put them down.
• You are less likely to quit reading if you choose titles you like.
• You won’t be reading out of obligation. You’ll have a better mindset and attitude towards your reading goal.

6. Keep a book with you at all times

Whether you’re at a grocery store or standing in line at the bank, having a book with you will keep you motivated to read.

Instead of just sitting idle, you can use that time to keep reading. It prevents distraction from things around you, such as noise from other people or the TV in the background.

Simple hacks for keeping books around you:

• Place books in different locations like your car, bedside table, living room, and the home office. 
• Use different versions of the same book. You can keep a printed copy in one room and have the e-book and audio versions on your phone and tablets.
• Your safety comes first. When reading in public, be alert to your surroundings. Don’t get too immersed in the book that you fail to note things around you. Your safety is more important than the reading goal. 

7. Minimize distractions

Getting distracted exhausts your brain and hinders its ability to recall information. When you engage in activities that divert attention, these variables affect how much information you can retain.

If your goal is to read from home, you’ve got to minimize distractions.

Here are a few tips:

• Get off social media.
• Put your phone and tablet on silent and deactivate any alerts.
• Shut down the TV.
• Avoid multitasking. You might come across a video that solidifies your understanding of the book and want to interrupt your reading. Instead of juggling between the book and the video, watch the clip after your reading time. That way, the clip will reinforce what your mind has already captured.
• Find a quiet space such as the home library. You could also read from a public library.
• Feed your children (and pets) before you begin reading.
• If you have a toddler, you could take advantage of their sleep time to catch up with some reading.
• Use technology to block distracting websites. Apps such as Dewo, LeechBlock, FocusMe, and Freedom are great for blocking you from accessing websites during your scheduled reading time.

8. Stock up on books

Stocking up on books serves two purposes:

1. It gives you a visual of your goal. As you see the inventory shrink each day, you will be more encouraged to read faster and reach your goal.
2. It gives you the freedom to interchange between different genres and titles.
3. It ensures you have enough books to cover you for a period. This reduces the pressure to go to the bookstore or online each day to pick the next day’s book.

Tips for stocking up on books:

• Buy books on sale. Visit your bookstore to see if they have a sale. Or check online for sales on books from Amazon, Booktopia, AbeBooks, Alibris, and Barnes & Noble.
• Choose your next read from the inventory. This helps you get rid of decision fatigue. When you’re more than halfway through the book, peruse your inventory and choose the book you’ll read next.
• Invest in buying books instead of using money to buy the third pair of shoes or clothes in your closet.

9. Take advantage of technology

With technology, you’re no longer restricted to hard paper books. You can keep up your reading with electronic written and audio versions.

Audiobooks have their benefits:

1. They improve your time management. You can listen to audio recordings during your commute or in your free time.
2. You can multitask while you listen. You can cook dinner, exercise, or clean the house while listening to the recording.
3. You don’t have to carry a book around.
4. You learn to pronounce words and phrases using the recorded voice as your trainer.

Take advantage of online apps to get ebook and audio versions of your printed copy. 

Useful apps include:

• Kindle
• Audible – Get a free trial & free audiobooks here
• Audiobooks
• Bookmobile
• Google Play Books
• Hoopla

Some of these apps are limited to specific mobile operating systems such as Android or iOS. Check out their restrictions and if they have monthly charges before you sign up.

If you are interested in free audiobook apps, check out:

• Librivox
• Open Culture
• Loyal Books
• Lit2Go
• Libby

10. Borrow time from other activities

According to Statista, Internet users spent 145 minutes per day on social media in 2020. In the US, online users spend a little over 2 hours daily.

Instead of spending 2 hours browsing social media websites, use that time to read a book a day. That’s more than enough time to speed read and finish George Orwell’s 128-page Animal Farm (in 60 minutes) and Charles Dickens’ 110-page A Christmas Carol. You’ll have six minutes to spare!

Tips for borrowing time from other activities:

• Find out what triggers you to go online. It could be boredom or anxiety. When you feel that trigger to go online, grab a book instead.
• If you do this repeatedly and consistently, you’ll replace your online browsing habit with reading.
• Shut down distractions. Go offline and put your phone on silent. Shut down your TV, tablet, and any technology that tempts you to go online.
• Stop thinking of reading as a momentous task. Change your mindset.

What happens when you read a book a day?

Reading a book a day is advisable for its cognitive, emotional, and physical benefits. 

The merits of daily reading are:

It stimulates your brain. 

Reading stimulates different regions of your brain. It boosts your brainpower by running multiple processes so that you can analyze, understand, vocalize, and visualize the words you read. 

It boosts your memory. 

Reading every day pushes your brain to start and stop different processes compared to watching a TV series. These different processes heighten your mental activity, so you easily remember concepts, letters, or even words. You can also learn to boost your memory for speed reading with this video.

Reading increases your knowledge. 

Reading cultural and historical books gives you greater knowledge and understanding of the world around you. More knowledge helps you make better decisions and tackle life challenges more analytically. 

It expands your vocabulary. 

Reading exposes you to words that end up in your daily vocabulary. The wider your vocabulary, the clearer you articulate your thoughts.

It improves your concentration. 

Focusing on reading a book, say, for 15 minutes, trains your mind not to get easily distracted by things around you. As you immerse yourself in the book, you lose interest in distractions and learn to become more productive with your time.

Reading builds your analytical skills. 

Daily reading stimulates critical thinking as you analyze the book’s details, plot, and content.

It helps with stress management.

An easy read can distract you from stressors and reduce tension in your body. Plus, reading spiritual books can help you become calmer and more reflective.

You become a better writer. 

Reading a book a day influences your writing flow, style, and fluidity. Your writing becomes more eloquent, expressive, and coherent.

How many pages can people read in a day on average?

An average person can read up to 100 pages a day. The number depends on various factors.

While, on average, most people can finish up to 40 to 50 pages in an hour, other slower readers struggle with 30.

In a day, while handling other chores as well, it is very much possible to finish a 100-page book. 

However, the number is subject to change due to these factors:

• The intellect of the reader
• Interest in the book
• Readability of the text
• The complexity of the book

Whatever your reading capacity is, book reading should not be a race. Even if you go at a slower pace and finish a book in a month, it is okay if you learned something from it. Knowledge should be our utmost priority.

Is it good or bad to read one book a day?

It is neither good nor bad to read just one book a day. You can read as many and as little as you can understand.

Some people think that reading one book a day is better than reading a few chapters from multiple books. They are of the opinion that delving into more than one subject a day may create confusion in the reader’s mind and jumble up the information they have grasped.

Nonetheless, it all depends on your preference. Many readers believe that reading different books on the same day will keep your interest in them alive and you won’t get bored easily.

Final thoughts

You can read a book a day by:

• Learning to speed read
• Joining a reading challenge
• Adjusting your mindset
• Shifting between genres
• Choosing books you enjoy reading
• Keeping books with you at all times
• Minimizing distractions
• Stocking up on books
• Exploiting technology
• Borrowing time from other activities

These ten strategies will spur you to read more and improve your competitive advantage in your studies and career.

You may find that reading a book a day is an achievable goal. It can become an enjoyable habit that helps you be more time-efficient, improves your knowledge, improves your memory, stimulates your brain, and increases concentration.

If you would like to learn how to improve your speed to read one book a day, take up our free and paid speed reading courses. We’ll equip you with the tools to become a fast reader and increase your professional competitive advantage.