Hillmann Batuo

The struggle of staying staying consistent with reading books. 📚

I find it quite interesting how I went from hating any form of cumbersome literature in Cameroon (legit counted down the days till I had to drop history in highschool) to being crazy about reading now. 📖 

Nowadays, it is common knowledge that books hold a lot of power (knowledge is power) and lately I’ve been thinking about why I, and a lot of people I talk with who have a similar background, struggle with reading books (that are not meant to help them pass exams). Could it be something about the Cameroonian culture I grew up in that gave me this predisposition? 

Upon reflecting on this, I can’t help but identify a few things which could have played a role in this. The school system which encourages conformity/performance over creativity, the cost of acquiring books which were not considered as ‘necessary’, lack of role models around me who educated me on the importance of reading books that help develop you as a person and not just academically, the importance of oral tradition, just to name a few. 

How do you start to overcome these as an adult? How do you start to cultivate these habits after you grew up in a culture that never really equipped you with the tools to take the necessary steps towards that goal. 

Here are a few things I have learnt in my journey towards overcoming these challenges; 

• Set small goals. Don’t try to overwhelm yourself by trying to read so many books in a day/week/month. The most important thing is that you read more now than you did before. Progress above quantity. 
• Connect with people who keep you accountable in your reading journey, people who help remind you of the goals you set out to achieve. Join a book club if you have to. Being aware of the fact that you have the tendency to relapse into old habits (due to your predisposition) and taking the steps to remove those obstacles goes a long way. 
• There’s so many books out there, start with those that tackle topics you are interested in. That way you stay motivated to keep reading. 

Are there people out here who struggled with reading books as well due to cultural predispositions? How did you tackle that? Would be happy to hear what you are doing to overcome it? We can always learn from each other📚