How to Become a Better Reader in 9 Steps九步讀書，收效更佳

格蕾琴·魯賓

Reading is an essential part of my work， it’s an important aspect of my social life， and most importantly， it’s my favorite thing to do. I’m not a well-rounded person.

But reading takes time， and most days， I can’t read as much as I’d like. As I was writing Better Than Before， my book about habit change， I adopted many new habits to help me get more good reading done. Consider whether these habits might work for you：

1. Quit reading. I identify as a reader， and as part of that identity， I’d developed the habit of finishing every book I read， because a “real” reader finishes books. I know I wasn’t alone. According to Goodreads， 38 percent of readers always finish a book. I’ve now adopted the habit of putting down a book as soon as I lose interest. What a relief. When I let myself abandon a boring book， I have more time to read what I love. As Thoreau observed， “Read the best books first， or you may not have a chance to read them at all.”

2. Skim. Especially when reading newspapers， magazines， and the internet. Certain kinds of materials don’t need to be read carefully. Also， even if you spend many hours a day reading， you may feel as though you don’t have any time to read. The habit of skimming ensures that low-value reading doesn’t crowd out high-value reading.

3. Set aside time to read demanding books. It’s satisfying to stretch. Try setting aside some time each week to read books that are a bit challenging—a dense biography， a religious work written hundreds of years ago， a scientific book with a lot of unfamiliar terminology. I used the habit-formation Strategy of Scheduling to form the habit of doing “Study Reading” each weekend， to ensure that I make time read books that I may not exactly feel like picking up， but that I’m very glad I read.

4. Always have plenty of reading material on hand. Never go anywhere empty-handed—digital devices are a big help in this respect. Nothing is more terrifying to me than the prospect of finding myself on an airplane， with many hours to read and a book that I don’t like. So much great reading time—wasted！ I always have several options， each time I board a plane.

5. Keep a reading list， and keep it handy. For years， I kept my library list on a little pad at my desk， but I’ve switched the list to my phone. A handwritten list can be left behind， but a cell-phone list is always available. Whenever I hear about a book I want to read， I add it my library list. It currently contains the names of 194 books， and one day， I plan to read them all.

6. Try audio-books. Listening to a book can be a way to experience it in a terrific new way， and makes books available in situations where it’s impossible to read—say， when driving. Also， if you’re trying to form a habit， it’s also a great way to use the Strategy of Pairing. If you don’t particularly enjoy going for a daily walk， but want to get that exercise， try pairing your walk with an engaging audio-book. The time will fly.

7. Don’t fight reading inclinations. Sometimes I feel like I should be reading one book when I actually feel like reading something entirely different. Now I let myself read what I want， because that way I read so much more. Also， I love to re-read. I used to think that I “should” spend all my time reading books that I’ve never read before， but now I realize that there’s a special pleasure in re-reading.

8. Read Slightly Foxed. I’m a huge fan of this British quarterly magazine. Book coverage is almost exclusively focused on the books being published now—but what about the excellent books that were published decades ago？ Slightly Foxed is a mix of short essays about people’s favorite books from the past. （If you don’t know your book-collecting terminology， “slightly foxed” is a term used to describe books that are showing their age.）

9. Start or join a book group. Many people struggle to find time to read， even though they love it. Use the Strategy of Accountability to hold yourself accountable for reading： being part of a book group will help you make time to read. And while most book groups read fiction， you can have a book group organized around any kind of book you love. I’m in three—yes， three—book groups where we read children’s literature and young-adult literature. I’ve always been a huge fan of kidlit， and I love talking about these books with like-minded people. You could have a biography book club， a foreign-policy book club， a romance book club… I heard about a book club where they read classic New Yorker profiles.

讀書是我工作的主要內容，也是我生活的重要組成部分，最重要的，它還是我喜歡做的事。我并不是一個興趣廣泛的人。

但是讀書需要時間，大多數日子里，我的閱讀量都無法讓自己滿意。在寫關于改變習慣的書《比過去更好》時，我養成了很多新習慣來完成更多高質量閱讀。來看看這些習慣是否適合你：

1. 放棄性閱讀。我是一個書蟲，作為一個讀書的人，我曾經習慣讀完每一本已經捧起的書，因為“真正的”讀書人總是有始有終。我知道并非只有我一人如此，根據好讀網的調查，38%的讀者總是會讀完已經開始閱讀的書。然而我現在的習慣是一旦失去了對一本書的興趣就立馬放棄，這可真是一大解脫。允許自己放棄一本無聊的書意味著我有更多時間讀我真正喜歡的。正如梭羅所說：“先讀最好的書，否則你可能根本沒有機會讀了。”

2. 略讀。尤其適用于報紙、雜志和網站。有些資料不需要看得太認真。而且，即使每天花很多小時去看，你可能還是覺得好像沒有任何時間去閱讀。略讀的習慣可以保證低價值的讀物不會擠占高品質閱讀的時間。

3. 留出時間讀一些感到吃力的書。全力以赴會給人以滿足感。嘗試每周留出一定時間來讀一些有挑戰性的書——內容深刻的人物傳記、幾世紀前的宗教著作、包含大量專業術語的科學文獻等。我通過“制定時間表策略”養成習慣，固定在每周末做“學習性閱讀”，以確保有時間讀一些可能原本未必想讀，但很高興自己讀了的書。

4. 隨身攜帶大量讀物。不要空著手去任何地方——在這點上數碼產品是個好幫手。對我來說沒有什么比坐在飛機上，有幾個小時的閑暇時間，卻發現手上只有一本自己不喜歡的書更恐怖的事了。多么完美的閱讀時間啊——浪費了！我每次坐飛機都會選幾本可讀的書。

5. 列一份書單，并放在手邊。多年來我一直將藏書清單記在書桌上的便簽簿中，但現已將其導入到了手機里。手寫的書單不再必要了，但手機里一定要有一份。每當我聽說一本想讀的書，就會把它加到藏書清單里。目前這份單子已包括194本書了，總有一天我會遍讀它們。

6. 嘗試聽書。聽書為讀書帶來一種絕佳的新體驗，并且讓你在那些無法閱讀的場合——比如開車的時候——也可以有書為伴。另外，如果你正試圖養成一個新習慣，采取“配對策略”也是一個上佳之選。比如你并不是特別喜歡每天出門散步，可是又想運動，試一下邊走邊聽一本引人入勝的書。時間會過得飛快。

7. 不要克制閱讀意愿。有時我覺得自己應該去讀某本書，但其實真正想讀的是完全不同的另外一本。現在我想讀什么就讀什么，因為這樣我可以讀得更多。同時，我還喜歡重讀。以前我認為“應該”把所有時間用在尚未讀過的書上，但現在我領略到了重讀的獨特魅力。

8. 閱讀《微舊》雜志。我是這本英國季刊的死忠粉。一般的書目推薦基本上毫無例外地著眼于新近面世的圖書——那幾十年前出版的杰出讀物怎么辦呢？《微舊》里面收錄了各類小短文，介紹過去人們喜愛的圖書。（如果你不了解藏書用語，slightly foxed就是用來形容那些有年頭的書的。）

9. 發起或參加讀書會。很多人苦于擠不出時間讀書，即使他們熱愛閱讀。利用“責任策略”來讓讀書成為你的一項責任：成為讀書會的一員會幫助你擠出時間讀書。盡管大多數讀書會讀小說，你也可以參加任何一個讀你喜歡書類的讀書會。我參加了三個——沒錯，三個——閱讀兒童文學和青少年文學的讀書會。我一直都是兒童文學的忠實擁躉，而且熱愛與志趣相投的人討論相關書籍。你可以參加傳記文學俱樂部、外交政策書籍俱樂部、言情小說俱樂部……我知道一個讀書俱樂部專門研讀《紐約客》經典“人物”欄目專集。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）