I have always wanted to be a regular reader.

Earlier, I was an occasional one. Then, during 2021–2022, I somehow managed to strengthen this habit and read a decent number of books. After that, like many good routines, reading slowly slipped out of my life again.

For 2026, I decided to get back to it, but this time, I wanted reading to be a non-negotiable part of my daily routine, not something that depends on mood or motivation.

The problem was not a lack of good books.
The problem was finishing them.

Last year, I started several well-recommended titles but couldn’t carry most of them forward. They were good books, yet they failed to keep me glued. That inconsistency made restarting feel harder than it should have been.

So instead of asking “What should I read?”, I changed the question to:

“How do I make sure I show up every single day?”

Starting small, almost ridiculously small

On 1st January, I picked a random children’s storybook on my Kindle.

No grand plan.
No must-read list.
Just one short story a day.

The goal wasn’t reading well.
The goal was not breaking the chain.

This choice turned out to be more powerful than expected. There was zero pressure, zero guilt, and zero friction. Even on busy or tiring days, reading one short story felt achievable.

Why Kindle worked for me

I consciously chose Kindle over a physical book, not because I dislike physical books, but because Kindle gives feedback.

• It tracks daily reading
• It shows streaks
• It gives reading insights

In the past, this has helped me a lot. On days when I feel exhausted, the fear of breaking the streak pushes me to at least read a page or two.

This might sound silly, but it works.

That visible streak becomes a form of accountability. I don’t want to be the person who breaks it.

This is something I had learned earlier while reading Atomic Habits.
Showing up matters more than intensity.

Fifteen days in, still no “real” book

Fifteen days passed.
I was consistent.
But I was still reading children’s stories.

I hadn’t decided what to read next.

So I did something interesting. I asked ChatGPT for help.

I fed it information about:

• the books I’ve completed over the last 10–12 years
• the books I abandoned midway

The analysis it gave me was surprisingly accurate.

It told me that I enjoy strong storytelling, where the end of one chapter naturally pushes me to peek into the next, regardless of genre.

That insight alone explained a lot.

Finding momentum with the right book

Based on that recommendation, I picked up The Silent Patient.

And honestly, it worked like magic.

I got so invested in the story that now I actually wait for night time, which is when I usually read, just to find out what happens next. Reading stopped feeling like a task and started feeling like anticipation.

That’s when I knew the habit had clicked again.

What this experience taught me

The biggest lesson wasn’t about books.

It was this:

• Build the habit first
• Protect the streak
• Discover your taste after momentum exists

Sometimes, we fail not because we lack discipline, but because we try to do everything at once. Build a habit, pick the perfect book, enjoy it deeply, and stay consistent.

This time, I separated those steps.
And it made all the difference.

If you’ve been trying to get back into reading and failing repeatedly, maybe don’t start with a great book.

Start with a small promise you can’t break.

The stories will follow.