Ever find yourself picking up a book with good intentions, only to abandon it half way through? You’re not alone. I’ve started more books that I care to admit. A promising first chapter, a sticky note or two and then … somehow, nothing. The book sits on the table. I tell myself I’ll get back to it. Spoiler alert: I don’t.
Reading slumps are like soggy biscuits. They happen to the best of us. We start book after book, yet somehow finish so few. And yes, I’ve tried all the usual advice – “Read more”, “just 10 pages a day”, “make it habit” but honestly? it felt like homework.
Let me say this early: This is not a challenge. There’s no target, no streak, no pressure. Just a rhythm that helps me return to reading when I want to – and actually finish a book by the end of the week.
The Reframe
Here’s the liberating truth: Finishing isn’t the goal – returning is.
Imagine reading as a conversation with a friend rather than a race to finish line. Momentum doesn’t come from grit and punishment; it grows from kindness, curiosity and trust. This gentle rhythm fits naturally with my Book-et List philosophy. Where reading isn’t about crossing things off, but about the joy of coming back again and again.
The Gentle One Week Rhythm
Below is a seven-day flow you can follow gently. No marathon sessions, just small, meaningful moments.
📌 Start where you are, not where you think you should be.
Open your book, read a paragraph… then another. That’s it.
TIP: set a tiny goal. A timer for ten minutes. Or five. And you’ll be amazed how often you’ll extend it.
📌 Create a specific moment that becomes “your reading cue.”
Find a time that already feels good – cup of tea after lunch, bed before sleep, five minutes between tabs. Let that be your reading pocket.
TIP: Pick a moment you already enjoy.
📌 Leave your book somewhere visible – or somewhere you have to move it
You’ve started. Now gently build. Maybe you go a few pages further. Maybe not. Either way you showed up.
TIP: If you have to physically move your book to sit down, you’ve already handled it.
📌 Today ask – just one more?
This is my favourite. You get to the end of a chapter, pause … and think oh go on then. That extra chapter often holds the sparkle that pulls you forward. (or at least a cliff hanger you need to know the end of)
TIP: If you’re not feeling the end of a chapter today, there is no pressure to finish it. As soon as it begins to feel like a chore, put the book down and do something else.
📌 Shake things put to refresh your curiosity
Reading can feel new again with a change of scenery. Sofa instead of bed. Window seat instead of kitchen table.
TIP: I love taking my book to a cafe, the canteen, or even reading on the floor.
📌 Cancel a scroll. Read instead.
Make space for a longer session. Maybe an hour. Maybe 30 minutes uninterrupted. Let the book hold you. This is your “reading for pleasure” day. Notice how your mind settles – reading becomes meditation, not a task. And if it ever does feel like a task, take a break.
TIP: If 30 minutes sounds like too much, how about ten minutes repeated three times?
📌 Don’t force the finish. Just notice how far you’ve come.
If you’re near the end, you might finish today, or not. Either way you’ve spent a week with this book, and that is something! Finishing a book today feels brilliant, but if you’re not there yet, that’s absolutely okay.
TIP: If you are not enjoying this book… you have my permission to DNF it. Life is too short to read books that don’t bring joy.
Reality check
A book a week isn’t a badge. It’s a feeling, of returning, gently again and again. This rhythm isn’t about pressure. It’s about presence. And if that feels good, you can always come back to it. If at any point it does feel like pressure, then we don’t read today.
Let’s keep it real:
- Missed days don’t reset your progress. Skipped reading doesn’t erase the value of what you’ve already read.
- Some book takes longer. Thick novels, dense non-fiction. They deserve patience.
- Some weeks just aren’t reading weeks. And that’s human.
This is where trust quietly builds, in yourself, your rhythm and your love for books.
The Book Goddess Reads 
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