ExclusiveStay on track with reading goals by planning, focusing, and choosing wisely

Welcome to Epoch Insights with Tiffany. My name is Tiffany Brannan. According to Dr. Asim Shah of Baylor College of Medicine, studies show that 88% of people who set New Year's resolutions fail them within the first two weeks. Now this topic today is not about New Year's resolutions, but it's about one of the most common New Year's resolutions that people make. And I don't mean exercise more, lose weight, save money, which are all common ones. I'm talking about read more. Many Americans, and people from all over the world for that matter, vow each year that they're going to read more books. Wanting to read more is one thing, but actually setting yourself up for success is another. On the front page of the Life and Tradition section of the latest issue of the Epoch Times, there's an article called How to Crush Your New Year's Reading Resolutions. By Walker Larson, this article includes tips to build great reading habits and spark literary delight. Here are five tips that Mr. Larson gives to help you read more during the coming weeks of winter and during the whole year. Number one, find your motivation. Just wanting to read more because it seemed like a good thing to do isn't enough. Like with any goal, you need to have a Why do you want to read more? Is it to learn something new? Is it to spend more time offline? Is it to broaden your horizons? Is it to increase your IQ? Is it to exercise your eyes in a different way? Is it to have some time for relaxation and meditation? Is it to get through some of those books that have been on your shelf for years? There are many reasons why you could want to As the philosopher Jared Henderson pointed out, reading more books simply as a vanity project probably won't be enough to keep you engaged. Rather, aim to understand the value of good reading. Take it to heart. Recognize the way that reading can expand your mind, enrich your life, and ultimately develop your human potential. And that's why having some external motivation, such as a book club or online class, could help you as you're going through dry spells of motivation. Number two, schedule your reading time. There's no shortcut to reading books. It takes time. And as the article points out, speed reading will probably make it less meaningful. You could end up getting through more books, but if you're not absorbing any of the information, taking anything away from it, or even enjoying it, what's the point? It's just a waste of time. Experts often suggest rather than setting a definite amount of time, you can set a definite number of pages you read each day. Writer and habit expert James Clear says that he sets aside time to read 20 pages each day, and he did that for 10 weeks. By following this habit, he found himself 100 pages into his seventh book. He could average around 36 books in a year. That's a lot of books. Of course, that depends on how large the books are, how big the print is, and many other factors. But just to set aside that time would make a huge step in that direction. Or you could do one chapter each day. That's always a great goal. Number three, read books that genuinely interest you, especially at first. Continuing the exercise analogy, make the use of practice and reputation to increase your speed and endurance. Just as a muscle can be weak if you haven't been using it, your reading muscle can be weak. And make sure you start with a book that genuinely interests you. There's no point in reading books that you feel like you should read. Rather, read books that you want to read. You'll get more out of it because you'll enjoy it more, and you'll be more likely to stay on track with your reading. Then once you get into that flow, you can go back to those harder books. As the article points out, many of us have very bad attention spans these days from watching TV or being on the internet. We're used to that constant stimulation and the quick pace. And online makes it even worse, watching short videos a minute long on YouTube or Instagram or TikTok. Reading a book is very different from that, but that's just why it's so important and why it's so meaningful. And it can be so refreshing because it's so different. Number four, read multiple books at the same time. Several reading experts recommend that this is a good way to do it because you can get bogged down with one book, and maybe you don't feel like jumping into it. Like having a diet. If you are trying to have a healthy diet, but if you only let yourself eat one thing, it's going to be harder to stick to that healthy diet. Whereas if you have a variety of foods that are all healthy and nutritious, it can be much easier to stay on track. And so having a variety of intellectual foods is a great way to keep your appetite whetted for reading. Having a currently reading list could involve a wide range of books that balance each other well. And then you can switch which work you're reading depending on your mood. Audiobooks are great because you can enjoy them when you're doing other things, like when you're driving or when you're taking a walk or doing some other form of exercise. So you can kill two birds with one stone, and it's a great way to sort of kill dead time while also keeping yourself really engaged. Number five, keep devices turned off or in another room. So easy to get distracted by devices, especially if you have something like a phone that has notifications that go off all the time, or if you are reading an e-book, the device itself could be giving you the notifications. So of course, the best way is to keep your devices in another room. Be in a room where there isn't a television, keep your smartphone out of the room, keep your laptop out of the room, and just focus on your book. So it blocks apps that distract you. If you're reading on your laptop, perhaps, or a Kindle, and you have the book downloaded, you can turn off the internet and just read. Let yourself be distracted by turning on the television. That might be the easiest thing to do, but it's so much more meaningful to read a book, and you'll feel good about yourself if that's something that you really want to set aside time to do. The truth is, reading more will require you to sacrifice the time you've spent doing something else. If you're looking for some recommendations of historical books to start off your reading list, here's a roundup of the five best history books of 2024, recommended by Dustin Bass. In 2024, he read nearly 40 history books. Of those, he chose the top five, plus two honorable mentions, and they're books that he recommends, and they have very different subjects. So if you like history at all, you're sure to find something you enjoy. From bottom of the list to top, number five is The Pirate Venice, uncovering the golden age of piracy. This book by Angus Constam is talking about how piracy started in the Caribbean, how it actually was ordered by the British government, but then the privateers became outlaws. Number four is A World Safe for Commerce, American foreign policy from the revolution to the rise of China by Dale C. Copeland. This book is talking about how declining trade expectations have always propelled the United States leaders into conflict, and it goes through basically every military conflict the United States has ever had, from the American Revolution all the way to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Number three, The Achilles Trap, Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the origins of America's invasion of Iraq by Steve Cole. This book proves that truth is stranger than fiction, as it talks about intriguing and sometimes tragic events that happened involving Saddam Hussein and what led to the war between the United States and Iraq. Number two, The House of War, The Struggle Between Christendom and the Caliphate by Simon Male. This book details a thousand-year-old religious conflict between Christianity and Islam, which has led to the Crusades and so many military conflicts and battles over the Holy Land. Dustin Bass said that this was very close to being his top pick of the year because he could he couldn't put it down, and it's one of the most engrossing reads you'll encounter. It talks about both the brutality of and the beauty as soldiers from opposite sides came to admire each other for their bravery, and it reminds me of some novels I've read about the Crusades, such as The Brethren by H. Ryder Haggard, this brotherhood that sprung up in a strange way between soldiers of the cross and soldiers of the crescent. And finally, the top pick is Alexandria, The City That Changed the World by Islam Issa. The author does the grand city justice with his research and elegant writing style. If you want to find out why, Alexandria is living proof of the kaleidoscope relationship between history and cultural mythology. The two honorable mentions are The Pursuit of Happiness, How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America, and it was written by Jeffrey Rosen, a constitutional scholar who tried to unearth the virtues of America's founders and to discover how they became the great men who founded our country, and it's a necessary read for modern times. Finally, the other honorable mention is 1217, The Battles That Saved England. It's an entertaining mix of a terrible king, incredibly durable castles, and three battles that proved a turning point for England's salvation. This book by Catherine Hanley, while it might sound like it's a bunch of battles, according to Dustin Bass, is pure fun. So if you enjoy history, I would recommend adding these seven books to your reading list for this year, and if you follow that goal of 20 pages a day, there'll only be seven out of the 36 books that you read this year, so certainly a great place to start. And you can balance them with lots of great novels and memoirs, thrillers, comedy books, and anything else that you find interesting. The important thing is to just set that time aside to delve into reading. This year is one of my New Year's resolutions. I'm, instead of being on the computer close to bedtime, my sister and I are reading at night. We started on the first chapter of Peter Pan last night, and I was able to go to sleep very quickly after that. It's a great way to relax, and I also like to read some devotions before going to sleep, and enjoying any kind of faith or spiritual reflection before you go to sleep is a great way to calm your mind and soul so that you can rest peacefully during the night. However you decide to integrate books into your New Year, I highly recommend that you make reading a priority in your life because it's a great way to turn away from the stressful chatter that the internet and news provide, and instead look at the true meaningful things of life, history, and the world so that you can be at peace and have wisdom as you approach life. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about the beauty of reading. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you'll like it, subscribe to the channel, share it with your friends, and leave a comment letting me know what books are on your reading list this year. Thank you for watching!