You're squished on a crowded 8AM subway, elbow deep in someone's tote bag, scrolling through the same 10 TikTok reels you saw last night and already dreading your 9AM standup. Or you're stuck in gridlock at 5PM, re-listening to the same three songs on your playlist for the 12th time that week, wishing you had something to do that didn't feel like a total waste of the 45 minutes you're trapped in your car. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone: the average American commutes 27 minutes each way, adding up to over 200 hours a year spent in transit --- time most of us write off as "dead time" we can't use for anything productive.
But what if that dead time was actually the easiest, lowest-lift way to build a consistent reading habit, no extra hours carved out of your already packed schedule required? If you commute 30 minutes each way, that's 5 hours a week, 250 hours a year --- enough time to get through 60+ books at a moderate reading pace, more than the average American reads in 5 years. Audiobooks and e-books are tailor-made for this use case, letting you "read" while you drive, stand on a crowded train, or wait for a delayed bus, no perfect focus or bulky physical books required.
Why Your Commute Is the Easiest Place to Build a Reading Habit
The biggest barrier to building a reading habit for most busy people isn't a lack of interest --- it's a lack of time. After 10-hour workdays, care responsibilities, and a million tiny to-dos, sitting down to read for 30 minutes feels like just another chore you don't have the energy for. Your commute solves that problem entirely: you're already spending this time no matter what, so you're not adding anything to your schedule. You're just swapping mindless scrolling or zoning out for something that feels good, reduces stress, and gives you a small, consistent win every single day. Even better? You don't need to be a fast reader, or have perfect quiet to focus: both audiobooks and e-books work with the chaos of a daily commute, not against it.
Audiobooks: Your Go-To for Crowded, Active, or Long Commutes
Audiobooks are the ultimate hack for commutes where you can't hold a book, or where your hands are full (like when you're driving). They turn dead time into story time, no extra effort required:
- If you drive: Audiobooks are literally the only safe way to "read" while you're behind the wheel, cutting through the monotony of traffic and road rage without taking your attention off the road. If you've written off audiobooks as "not real reading," start with immersive, easy-to-follow genres: thrillers, memoirs, light rom-coms, or narrative non-fiction about topics you're already curious about. If you find narration too slow, bump the playback speed to 1.1x or 1.2x --- most apps adjust the pitch automatically so it doesn't sound distorted, and you'll get through more content in the same amount of time.
- If you take public transit and can't hold a book: Crowded subway cars or standing-room-only buses make pulling out a physical book or e-reader a hassle, but audiobooks work perfectly --- just pop in your earbuds and let the story play while you stand or sit. They're also ideal if your commute has a lot of background noise, since you can turn the volume up just enough to cut through the chatter without disturbing other passengers.
- Bonus: You don't have to spend a fortune on audiobooks. Nearly all public libraries offer free audiobook lending via apps like Libby or OverDrive, so you can access thousands of titles with nothing but your library card.
E-Books: The Low-Friction Pick for Short, Unpredictable Commutes
If you prefer reading at your own pace, or have a short or variable commute, e-books are the perfect low-effort pick:
- If you have a short, consistent commute: E-books work perfectly for 10- to 20-minute trips where you have a seat and can pull out your phone or e-reader. You can pick up exactly where you left off with one tap, no need to carry a bulky physical book around with you all day.
- If your commute is unpredictable: If you're stuck dealing with constant delays, or your trip length varies from 15 minutes to an hour depending on traffic, e-books are far more flexible than audiobooks. You can read for 5 minutes if you're running late, or power through a whole chapter if your train is stuck between stations for 20 minutes, no fast-forwarding or rewinding required.
- Pro tip: Download your e-books for offline access before you leave the house, so you don't have to worry about spotty subway service or dead cell zones cutting you off mid-chapter. Turn on your device's blue light filter if you commute early in the morning or late at night, to avoid messing with your sleep schedule.
3 No-Stress Tips to Make Your Commute Reading Stick Forever
The fastest way to quit your commute reading habit is to turn it into a chore. These three tips will help you make it stick without any willpower or extra effort:
- Ditch the "should read" list, and pick books you actually want to read. The whole point of commute reading is to turn dead time into something you look forward to, not to check off a list of "classics" you think you're supposed to finish. If you want to listen to a cheesy 2000s YA fantasy series or a celebrity memoir about your favorite influencer, go for it. If you hate it after two chapters, ditch it and pick something else --- no guilt allowed. The only rule is that you enjoy it.
- Habit-stack your reading onto a commute ritual you already have. After 10 hours of making decisions at work, you don't have the willpower to remember to start a new habit from scratch. Tie your reading to something you already do automatically: queue up your audiobook right after you buckle your seatbelt in the car, or open your e-book app right after you tap your subway card. After a week or two, you'll automatically reach for your book without even thinking about it.
- Keep a "commute reads" shelf separate from your other books. If you mix the silly, low-stakes books you read on your commute with the dense non-fiction you're reading for work or a book club, you'll start to associate reading with stress. Keep a separate folder or shelf for your commute reads, so you always have something fun and low-effort to reach for when you're tired or stressed from work.
Mistakes to Skip If You Want to Keep the Habit Long-Term
There are a few easy traps that will turn your commute reading practice into just another thing you quit after a week: First, don't force yourself to read "serious" material just to feel productive. If you try to listen to a dense history textbook or a work-related industry report on your morning commute when you're still half-awake, you'll hate reading and quit the habit entirely. Save the heavy, work-related reading for when you have time to focus at home, and reserve your commute for the fun stuff. Second, don't pressure yourself to hit a certain number of books per month. The only win here is that you're spending your commute time doing something you enjoy instead of scrolling mindlessly until you arrive home already drained. If you only get through 2 pages of an e-book a week, that's still 100 pages a year you wouldn't have read otherwise. Third, don't forget to take breaks when you need them. If you had a terrible day at work and just want to listen to your favorite true crime podcast on the way home, that's totally fine. Your reading habit is supposed to add joy to your life, not become another chore you have to check off your to-do list.
I spent three years commuting 45 minutes each way on a delayed, overcrowded NJ Transit train, and I used to spend every second of that trip scrolling through unread work emails or re-watching the same 30-second TikTok clips until my eyes burned. I tried for months to "find time to read" after work, but I was always too burnt out from 10-hour days to pick up a book, and I'd end up scrolling on the couch until 1AM every night. Then on a whim, I borrowed a silly rom-com audiobook from my library for my morning commute, just to see if it made the train ride feel shorter. I looked forward to my commute for the first time in years, and by the end of the year, I'd finished 34 books --- all without carving out a single extra minute of my schedule for reading. It didn't just make my commute less miserable, either: I found that I was less stressed when I got to work, and less burnt out when I got home, because I'd spent an hour and a half a day doing something that felt like fun, not work.
You don't need to have a quiet home, hours of free time, or even the ability to sit still for 30 minutes to read more. You just need to use the time you're already spending stuck in traffic or on the train, and turn it into something that makes you happy. Tomorrow morning, when you're getting ready for your commute, download one book you've been curious about, queue it up, and see how much nicer your trip feels.