July 12, 2026
Booked, busy, and mildly judged
How to Read More Books
Delete the apps, grab a book, and pray your toddlers cooperate
TLDR: The article says you can read far more books by replacing phone scrolling with reading and keeping a book with you at all times. Commenters were split between inspired readers sharing favorite tools and overwhelmed people joking that this plan sounds much easier without toddlers or chaos.
A would-be book marathoner dropped a surprisingly extreme plan for reading more: delete your social apps, carry a book everywhere, and treat every spare minute like a mini reading emergency. Waiting for a train? Read. Cooking lunch? Read. In the bathroom? Absolutely read. The advice itself is simple, but the comment section quickly became the real page-turner, with readers reacting like they’d just been handed both a life hack and a guilt trip.
The biggest mood was a mix of admiration, panic, and “sounds great if you don’t have kids” realism. One parent with two toddlers basically summed up the exhausted masses: inspiring, yes — but good luck. Others turned the post into a full-on recommendation war, shouting out tools and apps like Readwise for saving memorable quotes and an Android reading app called Readera because, in one gloriously petty swipe, other apps are apparently just too ugly to survive. Meanwhile, one commenter was less interested in productivity and more obsessed with the fact that the author seems to deeply, spiritually love Umberto Eco — which became the thread’s closest thing to a running joke.
And then there was the multitasking flex brigade: one reader bathes, dog-walks, listens to audiobooks, and does photography like they’re training for the Olympics of wholesome self-improvement. The hot take underneath it all? Reading more may be possible — but the community is divided on whether this is inspiring discipline or just elite-level lifestyle choreography.
Key Points
- •The writer says they increased reading from fewer than ten books a year to roughly one book a week by making reading a deliberate goal.
- •The article recommends replacing idle screen time on phones, computers, and TVs with reading.
- •The writer removed apps such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook from an iPhone and used an analog watch to reduce phone use.
- •The article advises always carrying a book and using short periods throughout the day for reading, including commuting and waiting times.
- •The writer says ebook readers improve portability and convenience, while also preferring to alternate them with physical paperbacks and often read multiple books in parallel.