For most of my adult life, I read maybe five books a year - and then, one year, I surprised myself by reading 50 books. This year I'm on pace for 100. I've never felt more creatively alive in all areas of my life. I feel more interesting, I feel like a better father, and my writing output has dramatically increased. Why did I wait 20 years? Well, our world today is designed for shallow skimming rather than deep diving, so it took me some time to identify the specific changes that skyrocketed my reading rate. None of them had to do with how fast I read. I'm actually a pretty slow reader. Here's my advice for fitting more reading into your own life, based on the behaviours that I changed:

Centralise reading in your home. Back in 1998, psychologist Roy Baumeister and his colleagues performed their famous "chocolate chip cookie and radish" experiment. They split test subjects into three groups and asked them not to eat anything for three hours before the experiment. Group 1 was given chocolate chip cookies and radishes and were told they could eat only the radishes. Group 2 was given chocolate chip cookies and radishes and were told they could eat anything they liked. Group 3 was given no food at all. Afterwards, the researchers had all three groups attempt to solve an impossible puzzle, to see how long they would last. It's not surprising that group 1, those who had spent all their willpower staying away from the cookies, caved the soonest. What does this have to do with reading? I think of having a TV in your main living area as a plate of chocolate chip cookies. So many delicious TV shows tempt us, reducing our willpower to tackle the books. Last year my wife and I moved our sole TV into our dark, unfinished basement and got a bookshelf installed on the wall beside our front door. And the TV sits dormant unless the Toronto Blue Jays are in the playoffs or Netflix drops a new season of House of Cards.