How to Read a Long Book Without Losing Momentum

UPDATE: I’M BEGINNING TO READ STEPHEN KING’S, IT. (KEEP SCROLLING!)

As we bookworms, or literature nerds, start our book haul for 2025, it is normal to look at the bookshelf and wonder which book to pick up first. “What book should I read first,” you wonder, asking yourself. “Should I read the shorter book or the long one?” Starting with a shorter book is more beneficial because you'll likely reach your reading goal faster. However, if you’re someone who wants to start out with a longer novel, it can be a bit trickier to get by due to the story being longer, plus the number of chapters that have to be tackled. I have finished reading Game of Thrones Book 1, which helped me develop the skills to manage thicker novels. Now, I’m about to read Stephen King’s IT. I want to share with you at least 5 tips that will help you stay consistent on finishing a huge novel till the end.

1. Pick a novel that you know you’re interested in

   Pick a book with a story you know you'll enjoy. If you at least have a decent amount of knowledge about what the story has to offer (setting, a bit of the plot, and the cast of characters), then you’ll be in good hands once you open the book. Many people don't finish bigger novels because the story doesn't entice them. They give up and move on to another book. Let me use an example: Personally, I’m beginning to read one of the books that is considered to be a challenge to finish thoroughly due to the vast amount of detail and description. IT, by Stephen King, has been a book in which I consider a favored novel of mine. I know what I’m expecting out of it (even though I’ve seen the 2017 and 2019 adaptations based on the book). I know the plot of the story, the cast of characters that I’ll encounter as I read, and the story contains a clown, as the antagonist/main titular character, which is a character that I enjoy (I always had a fascination with clowns.). So, pick a novel that you’re interested in reading and have a decent amount of knowledge about the plot.

   
   

2. Schedule the time to read the novel

   This is crucial. Bigger novels take time to finish reading because of the heavy material present. Therefore, establishing a reading schedule and time is important. In college, I came up with an effective way to finish all of my readings without getting overwhelmed. I would read 20 pages, take a 15-minute break, and then read another 20 pages. This is a formula in order to break it down much easier:

   
   

   (READING 20 PAGES + 15 MINUTE BREAK + ANOTHER 20 PAGE READING = A GOOD, EFFECTIVE WAY TO TACKLE BIGGER NOVELS.)

   
   

   This helps a lot when you don’t know on how to successfully read bigger novels nor tackle them. It is very important not to skim bigger novels since there could be a probability of forgetting what you just read, which makes it an unbearable read to finish.

   
   

3. Read slowly and intentionally

   As I said in #2, skimming is probably the worst way on handling novels that are a thousand pages long since it is highly likely that you’ll forget what you read and it can lead to an early burnout. I’ve tried reading without a pencil on hand, but it doesn’t work for me (it gives me a headache). A trick that I’ve used over the years is to read with a pencil on hand and use it as a stylus in order to guide me on which words I’m currently reading. It is scientifically proven that reading slowly allows readers to absorb information and details much clearly than skimming.

   
   

4. Annotate on the sidelines of the book

   Bigger novels demand more attention since there’s a huge cast of characters driving the story forward plus the themes. I don’t like having a sheet of paper on the side and annotating while reading (I find it bothersome to tilt my head back and forward between the sheet of paper and the book). The best advice that I can give you is connected with tip #3 and that is to annotate on the sidelines of the text in the book, while intentionally reading. Pay close attention to what techniques the author is using, especially the show, don’t tell technique.

5. ENJOY THE STORY

   I can’t stress this enough. The most important of them all when it comes to reading a bigger novel is to enjoy the story. Let the story take you to places that you’ve never thought possible. Read every word carefully and intentionally as you make progress with the book that you’re reading. That being said, make sure to have a decent mastery of #s 1, 2, 3, and 4. Why do I say this? Because it’ll make #5 more fun and enjoyable at the end. It doesn’t matter if you’re a bit late to read the next book in your book haul because, at the end of the day, we want to immerse ourselves cleanly in what we’re reading. Enjoy the story!

HAPPY READING TO ALL THE BOOKWORMS OUT THERE AND PLEASE GIVE A FOLLOW ON THE BLOG’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: @JESLITERATI. THANKS!