How to Read Two Books a Week

100 books a year sounds like a lofty goal, but it’s not that hard once you break it down

Photo: Cavan Images/Getty Images

Most of my friends know I’m interested in Stoic philosophy. When one of them wants to start learning about the subject, they’ll ask me something like: “Which one should I read first — Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, or Epictetus?”

My answer: Buy them all. Read them all.

If you’re reading less than you want, you’re not the only one. I love books, but since I graduated from college, I read fewer books each year. Loving books doesn’t always correspond to actually reading them, it turns out: My work and life got in the way of reading as much as I wanted. One year I looked at my Goodreads page and noticed that I had read only five books in the entire year. I was appalled.

I set myself a goal of reading 100 books a year. That’s actually quite reasonable once you break it down: Most people read 50 pages an hour. If you read 10 hours a week, you’ll read 26,000 pages a year. Let’s say the average book you read is 250 pages. In this scenario, that adds up to 104 books in a year.

Here’s how to do it.

Buy books in bulk

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