Tips: Read more, and read more adventurously, in 2017

If you're in a reading rut or struggling to find time, shake up your reading routine. This year, read a book in translation. Read a book out loud. Read a book from a genre you've never tried.

Giving yourself a reading goal — whether it's a number (one a month) or a genre (more biographies) — is a good place to begin. Here are five other tips from The Thread on how to book out your 2017.

You may be surprised where you find five, 10 or even 15 spare minutes to dive into your book. In the age of e-books, which you can easily download from your library, it's never been easier to have a book with you everywhere you go. You don't even need a dedicated e-reader device: Most smart phones have e-book apps.

There's no better way to mix up your reading habits than to borrow from friends and co-workers. Find someone who reads outside your typical tastes and swap favorites.

Short stories are the perfect prescription for busy readers. They're quick and easy to devour in one sitting.

Read a book from another country, from another religion, from another political perspective, from another time. Read outside your comfort zone.

Hollywood often gets its best ideas from the bookshelf. Catch up on the thrillers, memoirs and family dramas that have caught filmmakers's attention.