Ep. 65 How to Fit Reading Into Your Life

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Today’s episode is all about reading! We both love getting lost in a novel and learning through really great nonfiction books so we had a chat about the reading life and how to find more time to fit it into our lives.

We chatted about:

1. Figuring out what kind of books you like

2. Knowing how you like to read and different ways to fit it in

3. How to get excited about reading if you’re in a slump or haven’t read for a while

4. How to find great book recommendations

5. Making time for reading

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Recap of Episode

How to get excited about reading again (or for the first time!).

1. Find the right books!

• Read what you like

• Don’t be afraid to abandon a book

• Recognize specifically what you like and dislike about a book so you can find more like it

2. Reading is the best way to get education for FREE or very cheap.

• The library or free kindle books can be your new best friend!

3. Learn HOW you like to read

• Kindle, physical books, audiobooks? What works best for you!

• You don’t have to stick to one way, try out a few and see what works for ya right now.

4. Find a good resource for book recommendations

• A friend with similar taste (Here’s Kristin’s Goodreads page)

• An Instagrammer or book blogger - Modernmrsdarcy.com has great reading guides

• Goodreads

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How To Make time For Reading

Part of making time is being excited about what you’re reading. If you’re loving the book you’re in, it’s hard to stay away and you’ll FIND the time.

Use a variety of methods to read (like having a Kindle book and an audiobook going at the same time)

Try using small pockets of time in your day

• Use reading to transition between activities in your day

• Read instead of scrolling social media to fill those little breaks in the day

• Read while nursing or rocking a baby

• While kids are playing

Use longer stretches of free time on the weekends to get a lot of reading in

Just make it a priority! But also give yourself grace for when it doesn’t fit in so easily.

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A Few Of Our Favorite Books Of all Time

Kristin’s favorites:

Fiction:

• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

• The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows

• Anything by Kate Morton, my favorite is The Forgotten Garden

Non-fiction:

• If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland (This is Laura and Kristin’s FAVORITE!!!)

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (A great book if you’re wanting to be creative, but are fearful)

• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (A sweet, thoughtful and very short read)

Laura’s favorites:

Fiction:

• Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer (Keeps you intrigued the entire time!)

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (A classic I don’t get tired of!)

• George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl (an Elementary read)

Nonfiction:

• How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (You could seriously study a chapter of this every week of your life and continue to become a better person. It’s so good!)

• Art & Fear by David Bayles (A fabulous one for any aspiring creative)

• Understanding The Book of Mormon by Grant Hardy (Really helpful insights about the authors)

Our favorite children’s books:

• Bunny Roo, I Love You by Melissa Marr & Teagan White

• Dream Animals by Emily Winfield Martin

• The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

• The Littlest Family’s Big Day by Emily Winfield Martin (Kristin gave Laura this one and it is the cutest!!)

• Any of Susan Boynton’s board books!!

• The Color Monster by Anna Llenas (such a creative, fun & cute picture book all about emotions)

• Seeds and Trees by Brandon Walden (All about how words can hurt or heal! So good!)

• The Good Egg by Jory John (This one made me laugh! He also has one called The Bad Seed, also hilarious.)

• Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (Kiddos seem to love this simple, older one)

• The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

• Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (A classic from my childhood)

What’s Are Your Favorites?

We’d really love to hear what your favorite books are!!! Feel free to comment below or message us on instagram @jointheprogressproject.

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Thanks to Whitney Henrie, Lorren Lemmons, and Cindy Steel for their contributions and advice about the reading life!

Links Mentioned in this episode:

• A great Summer Reading Guide by modernmrsdarcy.com

• Goodreads: A fabulous way to find new books, read helpful reviews and see what others are reading.

• Kristin’s Goodreads page

• Kristin’s 17 all-time favorite books

• Bonus Episodes! For just $3 you can get access to our monthly bonus episodes that are designed to help make a huge impact in your day in a short amount of time. Just click on PATREON to check out everything you can get when you support us for $3 or $10.

• Find Your Purpose Course: Grab our free guide to help you discover your true purpose. Get a sneak peak of our course and everything you’ll be getting including your very own beautiful physical workbook! It’s seriously our FAVORITE thing we’ve ever made and love sharing it with others!!

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Like the episode? We’d love to hear!

Have you found ways to trust yourself and follow through on things?

Just comment below or catch us on instagram @jointheprogessproject

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