Choose your read
Literature is an umbrella term. From Poetry to Fiction to Prose, there are various genres that can overwhelm you, but don’t you worry!
Here is an idea- choose one genre and then choose the category in it. For instance, you can start with Fiction and go for novels written by African writers, Nigerian writers, and so on.
Don’t like what you read? Not to worry. Other genres of Poetry, Prose and Drama are at your disposal. Your read is yours alone- no one’s judging.
You can also ask your reader friends to recommend you some good books.
Just don’t let anxiety overtake the better of you, making you believe that you know nothing and so it would be better to just let it go and switch on to watching another web series.
How to begin?
Just begin. Stop procrastinating. Stop being afraid. And stop scrolling your Facebook timeline for 5 kms. Switch that mobile data off and begin.
Focus
Don’t listen to music while reading. It’s no Mathematics. You have to read with a single mind as the book demands your undivided attention. It is then only the story with all its elements will start to concretize in your mind.
Set targets
You can never finish a book if you don't set targets. Promise yourself to read at least 4 chapters in one sitting. Targets can also be set up with completing a certain number of pages.
Buy a bookmark
You don't abuse books. You don't touch them with dirty hands. You limit the painter in you to office tables and notebooks. You don't fold the edges of the various pages in your read but you buy a bookmark. A bookmark keeps you on the track, and makes you want to read further. You can set your targets by keeping the bookmark on the last page of the last chapter that you would be reading in a particular sitting.
Read one book at a time
At times, you might feel the itch to switch on to another interesting book that you have got your hands on but behold- do not try that unless you have become a pro or the book that you have been reading is playing too much with your mind.
Make it a priority
If you have begun reading a book, make sure that you finish it. Be curious about it. A good book will keep your mind engaged.
Don’t keep your book to the second pedestal. Don’t just skim through it. Don’t try to finish your read ASAP only to brag about it on social media. Absorb from what you read. Let the words, the 'plastic' images that you have made in your mind overtake you. It’s only then that you will gain pleasure out of your read.
The content not the size
You should not choose a book on the basis of its cover or the number of pages, but the content. The thick ones might take a lot of time but if they’re worth your time, then don’t be afraid.
Read what you like and not what others are reading
"If you are going to read what everybody else is reading, you are going to think what everybody else is thinking." Enough said!
To sum it up, keep calm and let not anyone make you feel small. Literature is a vast ocean and one can never read enough. But you can always try to explore this ocean as much as you can. So, go ahead, and begin.