How I Read A Lot—Without Picking Up A Single Book

These past few weeks have been the most hectic ones out of all my semesters in university: juggling among school work, extracurricular work and being a freelancer. I was able to manage it all in the end, but I did neglect something that I consider very important in my life: reading.

I used to read, on average, 30-50 books a year, and we are more than half way into 2016 and I have barely reached 10 completed read books. Shame and horror, I have not even been able to keep up with my daily 25-minutes reading time. Is this what I am becoming/what society is making me become? It reminds me of the time when my friend once said that her mom told her in her teenage years that she should make the most of her reading time while she is young, because once we reach the world of adults… it’s over. I was hoping to contradict this saying, but I believe this year got me.

I also realised that I have been on social media for more hours than I wish I did, however this is how I teamwork in my activities and how I learn about current events for my freelance writing.

Then, it hit me.

Maybe I had stopped reading physical fiction books, however, I was still reading! Although I do scroll Facebook’s news feed from time to time, but I mostly spend my time online reading magazine articles, blogs and other informative websites. I could even actually consider it as part of my morning routine, just before starting on my work, to get inspired.

I have actually never fed on knowledge that much. And without books!

In fact, here are the 4 main websites I go to every day to dig for new interesting stories.

1. The Financial Diet

I did talk about this site previously on this blog and yes I am in love with it. Thanks to The Financial Diet I learnt about personal finance in a fun and constructive environment. I always look out for their new articles and their weekly YouTube video. Besides, the design and format is so pretty and user-friendly!

2. Medium

I do have an account of Medium, which is a kind of minimalist WordPress, a simplistic blogging platform, which I’ve also talked about in this blog previously. What I particularly love about this website is its plain white design, from which the widescreen pictures stand out and add so much flavour to a post. It is so pleasant to read. Moreover, at the start of each article, the estimated amount of reading time is shown, so if I’m in a rush or on a schedule, I can tell whether I should go on and read it or save it for later.

3. Flipboard

Flipboard is both a news website and a mobile app that has been stuck in my phone since I got it. One day, I finally decided to use it, and since then, I have been totally hooked. It is, as usual, the design which was the first reason why I keep using it: simple, yet colourful, and smooth. I mostly use the app, as I can just quickly scroll through the articles before going to class, for example. I also get to choose which news topics I want to appear on my Flipboard, therefore it enables me to focus more on what matters to me.

4. Vulcan Post

Finally, I browse Vulcan Post, which is the online magazine I work for as a freelancer. It is not because of the fact that I work there, but it is in fact because I was frequently reading its articles that I ended up freelancing for them. Their topics mainly focus on technology and lifestyle.

I recommend you to visit all these websites as they have quality and, at the same time, fun articles. I certainly got addicted, and if I do compare this new habit with how I used to read books, I can say that I am still an avid reader.

Of course, I still intend to read more books and catch up on my fictional readings. Hopefully, I’ll be able to read as much as possible after exams!

With that said, good luck to those students currently experiencing the exams period like me and, since I realise that I somehow can squeeze a blog post per week, I’ll write again soon for your reading pleasure!

An Evil Nymph.