The average Australian reads about 12 books per year. Many people read zero. Almost everyone wishes they read more.

The gap between wanting to read and actually reading comes down to a few practical barriers that are surprisingly easy to fix.

The Biggest Barrier Is Starting

The hardest part of reading isn’t reading. It’s putting down your phone and picking up a book.

Your phone offers infinite entertainment with zero effort. A book requires focused attention. In the competition for your evening, the phone wins by default unless you create conditions that favour the book.

The fix is environmental. Put a book on your bedside table and charge your phone in another room. Put a book next to the couch where you usually sit to scroll. Make the book physically easier to reach than the phone.

This sounds simplistic. It works because most of our behaviour is driven by convenience, not willpower.

Read What You Actually Enjoy

The fastest way to kill a reading habit is forcing yourself through books you don’t enjoy because you think you “should” read them.

Life’s too short for bad books. If you’re fifty pages in and not engaged, stop. Move to something else. You have no obligation to finish.

Read fiction if you want to read fiction. Read thrillers if thrillers are what you enjoy. Read graphic novels, memoirs, science fiction, romance, whatever genuinely interests you. The genre doesn’t matter. The habit matters.

Once reading becomes a regular part of your life, you’ll naturally branch into different genres over time. But building the habit requires pleasure, not obligation.

The 20-Page Rule

Commit to reading 20 pages per day. That’s it. Twenty pages takes 15-30 minutes depending on the book and your reading speed.

At 20 pages per day, you’ll finish a typical 300-page book in about two weeks. That’s 26 books per year, more than double the average.

The beauty of 20 pages is that it’s small enough to accomplish even on busy days, but meaningful enough to make real progress. Most people find that once they start, they read more than 20 pages. But the commitment is only 20.

When to Read

Reading requires time, and most people feel they have none. But time exists in gaps you probably aren’t using.

Before bed. Replace 30 minutes of phone scrolling with reading. Better for your sleep, better for your mind.

During commute. If you take public transport, this is reading time. E-readers and phones with the Kindle app make books portable.

Lunch breaks. Twenty minutes of reading during lunch instead of scrolling social media.

Waiting time. Doctor’s offices, airports, queues. Carry a book or have one on your phone. Dead time becomes productive time.

Physical Books vs E-Readers vs Audiobooks

There’s no wrong format. Use whatever gets you reading.

Physical books provide a tactile experience that many readers prefer. The feel of pages, the ability to annotate, the visual progress of moving through a physical object.

E-readers (Kindle, Kobo) are lighter, adjustable, and hold hundreds of books. Perfect for travel and reading in bed without disturbing a partner (backlit screens at low brightness).

Audiobooks count as reading. They’re ideal for commutes, exercise, and household chores. You can “read” while doing other things, which effectively doubles your available reading time.

Many people use all three: physical books at home, e-reader for travel, audiobooks during exercise and commuting.

Finding Good Books

Ask friends. A recommendation from someone who knows your taste is worth more than any algorithm.

Follow book reviewers. Find a reviewer or booktuber whose taste aligns with yours. Their recommendations will hit more often than bestseller lists.

Browse bookshops. Physical browsing exposes you to books you’d never find through online algorithms. Staff recommendations in independent bookshops are genuinely curated.

Library apps. BorrowBox and Libby give you free access to e-books and audiobooks through your local library. Free reading with no commitment. If you don’t like a book, return it and try another.

The Tracking Question

Some people love tracking their reading (Goodreads, StoryGraph, a simple list in their notes app). Others find it creates pressure that sucks the joy out of reading.

If tracking motivates you, track. If it creates anxiety about hitting a number rather than enjoying books, don’t. The goal is reading more, not optimising a metric.

Reading Groups

Book clubs and reading groups work for some people because they add social accountability and discussion. If you enjoy talking about books, join one.

The caveat: book clubs only work if the members genuinely engage. A book club where nobody finishes the book is just a social gathering (which is fine, but it won’t help your reading habit).

Permission to Be Imperfect

Some weeks you’ll read a lot. Some weeks you won’t read at all. That’s normal. The habit isn’t a streak to maintain — it’s a practice to return to.

Don’t let a week of not reading become a month. Pick the book back up. Read twenty pages. You’re back.

The relationship between you and books should feel like pleasure, not performance. Read what you love. Put down what you don’t. Make it easy. Make it enjoyable.

The books will follow.