How To Read A Book You Don't Want To Read

That list of required readings at school can sometimes make your head spin. Thankfully, I've been blessed with the ability to love almost all classic books slash poems, but there's no denying that some books just do NOT catch my attention the right way. Les Misérables and Wuthering Heights are two of those books that I found extremely difficult to read. I mean, it's not like the writers are horrible (in fact, let me confess that I'll never be able to write like Hugo or Brontë), but I just found it pretty hard to like these books. I didn't feel as invested into their characters as, say, Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennet. But more than the characters, it's the writing style that really tripped me up. For example, Victor Hugo spent countless pages talking about history and describing the setting instead of moving on with the story.

But enough chatter, here are some tips for you who are having a hard time trying to read a book you need to write a book review on by Friday.

Set a daily reading goal

Don't overwhelm yourself by reading the entire book at once. Take everything bit by bit. For example, if you need to read a 365 page book in two weeks... Read around 25 to 26 pages a day.

Make the most of the book

If you're an artist, draw pictures of important scenes. If you're a writer, write about your feelings and your thoughts of a certain passage. If you're a talker, talk with a friend about things that are happening in the book. Do anything to make the plot and characters seem more real to you.

Have a snack with you

Food makes people happy. Happy equals a better time reading a boring book. Fact of life.

Remove yourself of all distractions

Turn off your phone, computer, laptop, and anything else that could snatch your attention away from the book.

Just suck it up, be a big girl, and read the thing!

It won't kill ya. Promise.


-Barista Mia-

Image: Oleh Slobodeniuk