As a kid, I would devour books. I would beg to be taken to the bookstore. I would check out as many books as I could from the school library. And I would read them all. I spent embarrassing amounts of money at the book fair. I might have been the only kid using the money I got from my parents to actually buy books instead of the fun erasers. I read constantly up until high school where I pretty much stopped reading. The only books I checked out from my high school library were ones for class. I mostly read the assigned readings, but I wasn’t enthusiastic about them. I didn’t even read in the summer. Still, I decided to major in English. I read everything for my college classes, but by the time I got home I was too tired to read anything for fun.
This summer, I took some steps to change that.
First, I got a library card. I got one at the local public libraries in my hometown and in my college town. Books are expensive, but I can go to the library and “shop” for books as much as I like. I suffer from only wanting to read whatever book I’ve bought most recently, so I benefit from the “new-ness” without spending a bunch of money and keeping my room free from bookish clutter. I can also get e-books sent to my Kindle for free.
I also set aside a lot of time this summer specifically for reading. I would sit at my favorite coffee shops and bring only my book. Every book I read this summer was mostly read at a coffee shop. It got me out of the house during a pretty boring season. Most days, I would get myself a treat and sit and read until my coffee was gone (I am a slow coffee drinker so this was often a few hours). I went to coffee shops with my favorite reading seating. I prefer a big seat with a table in front of it to set my book on. I also spent a lot of time reading at the library. It can be hard to put yourself in the right mindset to read, but the library does that pretty instantly. Most of them have cafés inside too.
Finally, instead of doomscrolling before bed and falling asleep with my phone in my hand, I read in bed and fell asleep with a book in my hand. It was another good way to dedicate time to reading everyday, and it helped me sleep better. Everyone is constantly talking about not being on your phone before bed, which I get is annoying, but it’s true.
Reading is important. Author John Green says books “shrink the empathy gap.” Whether we realize it or not books teach us to be better, kinder people. And it doesn’t matter what you read, it only matters that you do it. We grew hearing that we should “put ourselves in someone else’s shoes,” reading gives you the perfect opportunity to do that. Green also says reading allows us to “learn what it is like to be ourselves, but we also learn what it’s like to be one of the eight billion other people on this planet.”
I read because I want to be better, so I am making it a priority again.