Hello Friends,

I am so excited about this post! (I am beginning to think I say that every week!)

For a long time, I’ve been thinking about a blog post on reading, and how to become a reader. So, I am finally sharing all of that with you today… plus a free book list which you can print out and check off as you go!

I am incredibly passionate about reading good books (in case you haven’t figured that out!). My mom read to my brothers and me quite a lot when we were growing up. As a result, all three of us love reading, and we love learning.

When I was little, my mom and I would read about Alice in Bibleland, and in every book they had this catchy little quote:

“Reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.” – Alice in Bibleland

This quote has stuck with me! While this phrase is true of storybooks, fairy-tales, and fictional stories… it’s also true in real life.

Do you want to become a godly young woman? Read and learn from someone who can teach you how!

Do you want to learn how to be a good wife and homemaker? Read and learn from someone who can teach you how to be a godly wife and an efficient homemaker!

Do you want to be a godly mother? Read and learn from the mothers who have “been there, done that.”

Do you want to learn how to manage time? Read a book on the topic!

Books can teach how to go from where we are, to where we want to be. We can learn from those who have gone before us, and we can learn from those who have made the mistakes so that we can avoid them.

“Reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.” – Alice in Bibleland

First and foremost, as Christians, we should read and study the Bible. That is the most important book in our lives. However, after the Bible, there are many other books written by godly men and women who can teach us many wonderful truths. We must always be careful to choose good books, so that we are not influenced the wrong way or fall into false teaching. This is why we must judge every book by the standard of God’s Word!

For the rest of this post, let’s talk about How to Become a Reader (especially if you’re not sure where to start!).

(This post does contain affiliate links)

How to Become a Reader

1. Read Topical Books that Interest You

Whenever I hear someone complain about reading, I always think to myself “you just haven’t read the right books yet!”.

I wouldn’t like reading either if I didn’t read books that truly interested me. Fiction is easy to love, but I like to focus on non-fiction because you can learn so much!

Ask yourself this…

What are my favorite hobbies? What interests me?

Identify your top favorite hobbies and interests, then go to library (or hop on Amazon) and look up books related to those topics. Find a book that piques your interest and give it a try. You will never enjoy reading if you don’t start with topics that you enjoy.

>>> Need Some Help? Check out this list of great books here.

2. Focus on Non-Fiction

Fiction is great for summertime, or that once in awhile when you just want to enjoy a good story. However, I think it can be dangerous to live in the fictional world – it’s just not real.

The Bible tells us to think on things that are “true” (Philippians 4:8) and fictional stories don’t exactly fall under that category.

We must be careful not to overdo it when it comes to fiction (especially love stories – it’s just not healthy to have a steady diet of romantic stories that can give us unrealistic expectations of love and life).

Instead, focus on non-fiction.

• Non-fiction tells true stories (think: history and missionary biographies!)
• Non-fiction teaches you how to do something.

• Non-fiction teaches you how to go from where you are to where you want to be!

Enjoy a good fictional book on occasion (preferably one that teaches a lesson like this one) but learn to love non-fiction books.

3. Get Book Recommendations from Others

Do you know some avid readers? Ask them for book recommendations!

Many of the books I have read and fallen in love with, were recommended to me by someone I trust and admire. If you don’t know what to read, ask someone.

4. Read Reviews Before You Buy

Before buying a book, look up the title and read the reviews. This is always a good idea, because you may find out something in the review that will sway your decision either way. Sometimes a book’s title and cover may not be what you expect once you are actually holding the book in your hand.

Be sure to check out the table of contents and skim over the chapter titles.  Are you sure this is a book you want to read?

Amazon is my go-to website for buying books and reading book reviews. Sometimes people can be ridiculous when writing a review, but I usually disregard the nasty ones. Amazon also lets you preview the table of contents and sometimes the first few pages of the book! How cool is that?!

5. Use the Goodreads App

The Goodreads app is a lot of fun, and great for finding new books. Goodreads allows you to follow your friends and see what they are reading – plus you can share your own book reviews and ratings.

Goodreads also lets you create “bookshelves” to organize the books you want to read, the books you have read, and books you want to categorize so you can find them better.

One of my favorite things about Goodreads is the yearly reading challenge. Every year on January 1^st (or whenever you can start) Goodreads let you choose a reading goal for the year.

This year my goal is 50 books, and I am about halfway there! Having a goal every year helps me read a whole lot more. Every time I read a book, Goodreads keep track of it for me, and shows me my progress towards the goal. Talk about effective motivation!

If you need some motivation to read more books, sign up for Goodreads and choose a reading goal!

Did I mention that Goodreads is totally FREE?

6. Make Time for Reading

Just like anything else in life, if we don’t make time for something, it’s not going to happen. There are lots of ways to make time for extra reading. Here are some suggestions:

You can read…

• in the car when some ELSE is driving (as long as this doesn’t make you car sick)
• 15 minutes before bed
• 15 minutes before breakfast
• during lunch break
• while waiting for a phone call or a meeting to start
• as a reward for finishing up a task or chore

You will be surprised how much time you can find for reading once you decide to MAKE the time!

7. Carry a Book with You

It’s always smart to carry a book with you when you there’s even that slightest possibility you will have time to read. When you get stuck waiting at the Dr.’s office (or wherever you may be) you can pull out your book and get in some extra reading time.

It’s amazing how many spare “waiting” minutes we can use for reading.

8. Try Audio Books

Not sure about reading a book?

Try audio books instead!

Audible has thousands of books on audio that you can listen to at any time. In the past I have enjoyed lots of audio books from the library and YouTube, while in the car, walking on the treadmill, washing dishes, and putting on my makeup.

Audio books are perfect for those moments when you want to read but can’t actually hold a book in your hands.

>>> Get two FREE books on Audible and a 30 day trial.

9. Read Books “Like a Magazine”

This is a trick my mom taught me.

Instead of reading a book from cover to cover, read it like a magazine. Look over the table of contents and pick out sections that sound interesting to you and get right to it!

No ones says you must read a book cover-to-cover. Sometimes the most efficient way to read is to pick and choose chapters and sections. We only have so much time for reading!(Obviously this does not work with novels and biographical stories!)

10. Have a Reading List

This last tip is one of my favorites.

It’s always so helpful to have a list of books to read in the future, that way you never get stuck without a book to read.

Because books lists are so helpful, I created one just for you! This list is a printable checklist of some of the best books for Christian women. Next to each book is a link so you can shop for the book if needed. You can also print out the list for a handy reference guide, and check off each book as you read it. This book list is 100% free for you to use.

Just sign up below to gain access to my FREE resource library where you can download and print your FREE book list!

Once you sign up, you will receive an email that contains the secret password and a link to take you to my FREE resource library.

Have fun reading!

Final Thoughts

A radiant young women never stops learning and growing. I hope that you will take advantage of all the wonderful books out there that can help you learn and grow.

Remember: “Reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.” – Alice in Bibleland

Before you go… what are your tips and advice for becoming a reader? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Here’s an info-graphic to help you remember what you’ve learned! See you next week!