How To Read 52 Books Per Year

In the last five years (2019-2023), I’ve read 293 books. That’s 58 books per year. Which is a little over one book per week.

Those books had 67,881 pages, so ~231 pages per book.

That number includes any fiction chapter books I read to my kids. It doesn’t include reading through the Bible once a year.

Sometimes I re-read books. I try to read Calvin’s Institutes, The Abolition of Man, and That Hideous Strength once per year. And sometimes I just re-read a book for fun. The numbers above include books I’ve re-read.

I used to read light, brain candy fiction every once in a while, but not in the last five years. I read mostly non-fiction, but when I read fiction, it’s usually classic fiction. I made that choice because books are food. And while I enjoy junk food sometimes, I mostly focus on growing my palette toward better and better foods.

I don’t read books during the work day, but I do sometimes listen to an audio book on my walk to and from work.

Let’s break down how to read a book a week—52 books per year.

There are lots of resources on how to read faster and with more focus. Let me know if you want my exact process, but for now, just know this: Don’t read passively!

Always ask yourself these questions:
1) What is the author saying?
2) Is it true?
3) What should I do about it?

My goal is to read one page per minute, which is a reading speed of 250-300 wpm.

For easier math, let’s say you decide to read books that are ~210 pages on average. To hit 52 books in a year, you need to read 30 pages each day. If you can read a page per minute, that’s only 30 minutes per day.

If you’re awake 16 hours, that’s only 3.125% of your waking hours.

Most of my reading happens before bed, but any time I can grab 5 minutes (before the kids wake up, before I take them to school, after dinner while the kids do their chores, etc.,), I read something. Those little 5-minute chunks add up.

But here’s the real secret. I don’t actually focus on reading 30 minutes a day.

I just have a minimum page goal in my mind and I make sure I always hit that goal no matter what. My minimum goal needs to be something I know I can do even if it’s bedtime and I’m tired.

My daily minimum has been as low as 1 page before.

If my minimum goal is still fun, then I often read even more. When I read even more, I get the joy of crushing that goal. It makes me feel like Bigfoot flipping a bus full of tree huggers. And that makes reading more and more fun each day.

If you workout, the more you lift, the more you can lift. It’s also true with reading. The more you read, the more you can read.

If you’re reading an unfamiliar topic, it’s going to be slow. But if you’re well-read and already know the topic, you’ll be able to anticipate where the author is going and then read much faster and with more comprehension.

In other words, consistent reading builds on itself. It’s better to read 5 pages a day than 30 pages twice a week. You’ll become a better reader by reading daily. And you’ll be more likely to stick with it for the whole year…and the rest of your life.

Set an easy minimum page goal for yourself. Read actively by asking questions. Push yourself to read a tiny bit faster than you’re comfortable with. And it will work.

What do you think?
Joseph