My 2023 Reading Project

in which I read about reading

In November 2022, Ezra Klein released a podcast episode interviewing Maryanne Wolf, a neuroscience and reading researcher currently focused on deep reading. After listening, I knew my attention span was kaput (yikes), and my reading life was no longer supporting my self care or my professional life (double yikes!), but I never acted on it. I haven’t implemented new practices or changed my daily reading habits. I haven’t deleted social media from my phone or started annotating my books.

I’ve listened to that episode four times since then, gleaning advice and feeling inspired each time. Despite my mood reading tendencies (and endlessly frazzled brain), I do want to refresh my reading life—whether through habits, frameworks, or specific TBR lists. So, here’s where I am now:

Rather than set a simple goal like “read for 15 minutes a day with my phone in the other room,” I’m making things more complicated. I decided this would be my year for going meta about the thing I love most: my year for reading about reading. I’ve curated a small TBR stack and a calendar to give myself some deadlines, and I’m sharing them here in the hope that you’ll read along with me (if you wish) and discuss reading in three areas: neuroscience, culture, and craft.

This is not a formal book club or buddy read. I’ll simply share my thoughts on each book in essay format here on Substack and invite you to add your ideas in the comment section. I’ve already seen such smart and thoughtful comments week to week, so going this route feels like a natural fit for the community we’re creating. Here’s my intended schedule:

End of June: I’ll share my thoughts on Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf.

End of August: How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo.

End of October: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders.

Let me know if you’re interested in discussing all of this nerdiness, and stay tuned. In the meantime, if getting meta about reading interests you, be sure to check out Sara’s Reading in Public series in her Fiction Matters newsletter. Each installment provides insightful commentary on reading as both practice and lifestyle.

Happy Reading!

Chelsey

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