How to Read More Books as a Busy Adult

To read more books as a busy adult, stop looking for big blocks of free time and use the small ones you already have: 10 minutes with coffee, a commute, the wait before a meeting, 15 minutes in bed. Add audiobooks for time when your eyes are busy, keep a book within reach at all times, and give yourself permission to quit books you are not enjoying. Those four changes typically matter more than any reading challenge.

The math is encouraging. An average adult reads ordinary prose at somewhere around 200 to 300 words per minute, and a typical nonfiction book is roughly 60,000 to 90,000 words. At 20 minutes a day, that is about one book every two to three weeks, or 15 to 25 books a year, without touching your evenings.

Where reading time actually hides

Most adults do not lack time so much as they lack continuous time. The American Time Use Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently shows that Americans spend far more of their leisure on watching TV than on reading. The gap is not about willpower. TV and phones are always available and need no setup. Books win when they become just as easy to reach.

Look for these pockets in a normal weekday:

• The first 10 minutes of the morning, before opening email or news.
• Commute or school run time, as audio if you drive.
• Lunch breaks, even 15 minutes of a 45-minute break.
• Waiting time: appointments, pickups, queues. A phone e-reader app covers this.
• Chores and exercise: dishes, laundry, walks, gym time, all audio-friendly.
• The last 15 minutes in bed, replacing the final scroll.

Say you use 10 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes of audio on a commute, and 15 minutes in bed. That is 45 minutes a day without carving out a single new slot.

Step-by-step: set up a reading system

1. Choose one “now” book in each format. A paper or e-book for home, an audiobook for the car or walks. Two books at once is fine if they are in different formats.
2. Put books where your phone usually is. Bedside table, kitchen counter, bag. Install an e-reader app on your phone and move it to your home screen in place of a social app.
3. Attach reading to existing routines. “After I pour my coffee, I read one chapter.” This is classic habit stacking, and it removes the daily decision.
4. Get free access. Sign up for your public library and the Libby app (where your library supports it), which lends e-books and audiobooks to your phone for free. Our guide to using the library to learn covers what else is available.
5. Keep a short “next” list. Three to five books you genuinely want to read, so finishing one never leaves you stalled.
6. Set a quit rule. For example: if you are not interested after 50 pages, or after 10% of an audiobook, stop.

A simple weekly reading plan

Slot	Days	Format	Minutes a week
Morning coffee	Mon to Fri	Paper or e-book	50
Commute or walk	Mon to Fri	Audiobook	100
Before sleep	Most nights	Paper (fiction works well here)	75
Weekend long read	Saturday or Sunday	Any	45
Total			About 4.5 hours

At that pace, finishing two or three books a month is realistic. If 4.5 hours looks impossible, halve every slot. Thirty books a year is a nice headline, but 12 books you remember beats 30 you skimmed.

Choosing books you will actually finish

Many reading slumps start with the wrong book. A dense, worthy book you feel you should read can stall you for two months. Mix “should” books with books you want to read, and put the easiest, most gripping one first when you are rebuilding the habit.

• Read the first few pages in a library or online preview before committing.
• Alternate heavy and light books: a long history, then a short novel.
• For nonfiction, check whether the core idea could have been an article. Some books are padded; see how to choose a good nonfiction book for quick tests.
• Re-reading a favorite counts. It can restart a stalled habit faster than anything new.

Reading more without forgetting more

Reading more books is only satisfying if some of them stay with you. You do not need elaborate notes. Two small habits do most of the work for nonfiction.

First, at the end of each reading session, spend one minute recalling the main point of what you just read, without looking. Say it in a sentence, or type it into a note on your phone. This is a form of retrieval practice, and it costs almost nothing.

Second, when you finish a book, write three lines: the main argument, one idea you disagree with or want to test, and one thing you will do differently. Keep these in a single running document. Within a year you will have a searchable record of everything you read, which is far more useful than a long list of titles.

Fiction needs none of this. Reading stories purely for pleasure is a perfectly good reason to read, and for many people a novel at bedtime is what keeps the whole habit going. If a book is for enjoyment, let it be enjoyment.

Mixing formats on one book

Some library apps and stores let you switch between the audiobook and e-book of the same title. Listen on the commute, then pick up the e-book in bed at roughly the same place. It is one of the easiest ways to finish a long book in a busy month.

Common mistakes

• Trying to read faster. Speed-reading apps promise a lot, but comprehension usually drops as speed climbs. Our look at whether speed reading works explains why more minutes is the better lever.
• Waiting for a free evening. It rarely comes. Read in small pockets.
• Setting a goal that turns reading into a chore. If a yearly target makes you pick short books just to hit a number, drop it in favor of a daily minutes target.
• Reading only on the phone where notifications live. Use airplane mode, or keep a dedicated e-reader or paper book for reading time.
• Feeling that audiobooks “do not count”. For most nonfiction and fiction, listening delivers the story and ideas. Paper is better for dense technical material you need to re-check.

How to know it is working

Track minutes rather than books for the first month. A simple tally in a notebook or a free app like StoryGraph or Goodreads is enough. Signs it is working:

• You reach for a book in a waiting room without thinking about it.
• Your daily minutes stay fairly steady even in a busy week.
• You finish a book and already know what the next one is.
• You can tell someone the main idea of the last book you read.

Expect the habit to wobble after three or four weeks, often when you hit a slow book. That is the moment to use your quit rule, not to stop reading.

Keeping it going when life gets busy

Busy seasons are when audiobooks earn their place. If you cannot sit down for a chapter, you can usually listen for 10 minutes while doing something else. Set a minimum: one page a night, or five minutes of audio. On hard days that counts as success. If you have stopped altogether for a few months, the gentle restart plan in getting back into reading helps.

Free tools and resources

• Libby: free library e-books and audiobooks on your phone, where your library participates.
• Project Gutenberg: tens of thousands of free classics whose copyright has expired.
• Your library’s physical shelves: often the fastest way to try five books at once with no cost.
• StoryGraph or Goodreads: free tracking and suggestions.
• Your phone’s e-reader app: lets you read in queues and waiting rooms.

Where to go next

Tonight, put a book on your pillow or bedside table and your phone on the other side of the room. Tomorrow, read for 10 minutes with your morning drink. Once reading time is steady, read with purpose: the self-education hub on how to teach yourself anything shows how to turn a stack of books into a real curriculum.

Frequently asked questions

How can I read more books with a busy schedule?

Use the small gaps you already have instead of waiting for free evenings. Read 10 minutes with your morning drink, listen to audiobooks while commuting or doing chores, keep a book or e-reader app ready for waiting rooms, and read 15 minutes in bed instead of scrolling. Those pockets often add up to 30 to 45 minutes a day.

How many books can you read in a year at 20 minutes a day?

At a typical reading speed of roughly 200 to 300 words per minute, 20 minutes a day covers about 4,000 to 6,000 words. Most nonfiction books run around 60,000 to 90,000 words, so that pace finishes a book every two to three weeks, or roughly 15 to 25 books a year, depending on length and difficulty.

Do audiobooks count as reading?

For most purposes, yes. Listening delivers the story and the ideas, and audiobooks let you read during time when your eyes and hands are busy, like driving or cooking. Print or e-books are better for dense technical material you need to re-read or annotate. Many busy adults use both: one audiobook and one print book at a time.

Should I finish every book I start?

No. Finishing books you dislike is one of the most common reasons people stop reading altogether. Set a simple quit rule, such as 50 pages or 10% of an audiobook, and move on if you are not engaged. Your reading time is limited, so spending it on books that hold your attention keeps the habit alive.

How do I read more without spending money?

Join your public library. Many libraries lend e-books and audiobooks free through apps like Libby, and their physical shelves let you try several books at no cost. Project Gutenberg offers free classics, and free trackers like StoryGraph or Goodreads help you keep a next-to-read list. Reading more does not require buying books.

Is it harder to build a reading habit after 40?

Not usually, though concentration for long reading may be rusty if you have not read regularly for years. Start with short sessions and gripping books, and build up over a few weeks. If small print strains your eyes, e-readers with adjustable text size help, and an eye test is worth it if reading has become uncomfortable.

What is the biggest mistake when trying to read more?

Waiting for large blocks of free time that never come. Close behind it is pushing through a book you dislike, which stalls the habit for weeks. Read in small daily pockets, keep books where your phone usually sits, and quit books that are not working for you.

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This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the Life Learning Journey editorial team. Read our editorial standards.