Issue #6: A Survey, Best Reading Hacks, Bad Blood

This roundup is in partnership with Book Talk with Lauren, a popular Substack that reviews and recommends books, curates lists, hosts author Q&As, and more. These tips come from our staff, our community, and Lauren herself. Click the button for her full list of 20 reading hacks.

Be a BABE (Bring A Book Everywhere). I love to be a BABE and bring a book (physical copy, e-reader copy, audiobook, or on a phone app) everywhere I go. If you replace doomscrolling with a few pages of reading, you’d be shocked how much you can passively read! — Lauren

Replace news with reading. Instead of reading the morning news, I read my book and I feel a whole lot better starting my day that way. To make it even easier, I have a book available in almost every spot where I might have a few minutes to read. I have at least one copy of my main book in every format: print by the bed, ebook on a Kindle, ebook on my phone, and audio, so there is always a way for me to keep reading. — Selina

Always be holding. I keep my library holds list well curated and maintained so that there’s always something I really want to read coming in, often when I least expect it. — Mia

Use ReciproCard to get the most out of your library card. Most people have one library card and one Libby catalog. What a lot of people miss is that you’re not limited to one card. You can add multiple library cards to the Libby app, and each card plugs in a completely different digital catalog. The trick is figuring out which extra cards you can actually get for free. Just type in your home library and the site instantly shows you every free reciprocal card you’re already eligible for. It covers libraries across the U.S. and Canada. — Lauren

Incorporate reading into your daily routine…and join a book club. Whether it’s your commute, lunchtime, an audiobook during the shower…something. My morning routine has been drastically better because there’s an audiobook playing. Joining a book club is another hack to being more consistent with reading. — Amber

Try the “rubber ducky method.” In programming, we have this thing called the rubber ducky: when you’re stuck on a thorny engineering problem, you have this literal rubber duck sitting on your desk, and you talk to it. It doesn’t talk back, but just the act of verbalizing it to someone else helps make everything clearer. When I read something, I will often chat about it with someone, and even if they’re just half listening, that’s honestly still enough for it to cement in my head. — Paul

Read books in another language that you’ve already read in your native tongue. My husband and I moved to Italy a few months ago and I’m working on learning a new language as an adult (send help). Something I’ve found really helpful is reading books in Italian that I’ve already read in English. Since I’m familiar with the story, it’s easier to follow. I’ve amassed quite a collection of Agatha Christies in Italian and have super random old-timer murder vocabulary now. — Cat

Have multiple books going at once. Audiobooks are my go-to at the moment because you can get so much done while listening to one. I listen while working, going for walks, crocheting, playing games, or doing chores, then have something lighter to read during lunch and a book I’m reading at home that I can take my time with, annotate, and make my entire personality for a while. I’ve found that it makes reading so much easier to fit into my day. — Ana

Kayla traded corporate marketing at a credit card company for a stint as a cheesemonger in Columbus, then found her way to Blue Couch, an indie bookstore where she’s worked since day one. Now she runs the shop’s marketing and its weird girl book club, and her picks help sell books at the store. One happy customer once said: “The Louvre has the Mona Lisa, and Blue Couch Bookshop has [the staff’s] recommendations.” Margins is lucky to have Kayla’s taste in books too!

Also, welcome and thank you to new members: maki, bookstori, Fatemah, Sandie, Tisa, Madelen, San, Linkoto, Krisztina, Kade, and more. Margins is free to use, but a paid membership unlocks extra perks and helps to support our small team.