Three small rituals making a big impact on my reading life
it really is the little things
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Picture this: you just finished cleaning the house from top to bottom. The windows are open, and a fall breeze drifts through your living room. You light a pumpkin spice-scented candle, grab your book, and curl up on the couch. Your toes are cold, so you pull up a fuzzy throw and snuggle in for an hour of reading.
Sounds glorious, right? I’ve been trying to make this scene happen as often as possible this season, but it’s not an every day occurrence. If I relied on a clean house or a lit candle in order to get in the reading mood, my unread shelf would consume me. It’s nice when it happens, but other, more low key reading rituals are more important right now, such as:
Annotating the Front Page
When I’m reading a classic novel or short story for
I almost always read a physical copy for the purpose of annotating. Annotations assist my analysis and comprehension, but my methods are far from elaborate. Some readers make annotating look like an Olympic sport; their books are beautifully color-coded, page-flagged, and highlighted with neat little notes in the margins. If I aimed for this level of annotation, I would never end up annotating anything—simply because my supplies aren’t always within reach.To ensure I can annotate anywhere, anytime, I streamlined my process. I just need a pen or pencil; that’s it. I can always find one near my reading spots: in the kitchen, on my nightstand, in my purse, at the bottom of my work bag. I dog ear pages, underline passages, and—most importantly—I create a little mind map or index page for key themes, memorable quotes, and page numbers. This mind map goes on the title page or any front page with plenty of blank space—this way, if I forget my reading journal, or if my reading journal is in another room, it doesn’t matter. My annotations are always with me.
When it comes time to outline an episode, write a review, or reflect on my reading, I don’t need to flip to every marked page in the book. I can just study the front page with my handwritten notes. Letting go of the aesthetic ideal for annotating in favor of the simplest method helps me stay focused on what I’m reading, not what I’m doing. When I flip to the front page of the book, I’m not leaving the physical space where the story is contained. This helps me read with fewer distractions, whether I’m catching up on work at the auto shop, a waiting room, or the corner of my couch.
Keeping Earbuds Handy
I feel a little embarrassed about this one, but it’s my truth, so I’ll share it. After living in tiny apartments and one floor ranch homes, last year we moved to a two-story townhouse. I’m an active gal who loves to walk and exercise. I don’t mind the stairs, really I don’t. But. When I’ve already been up and down the stairs for multiple things I forgot to grab, I get irritated. Every time I trek the stairs, I think of my waitressing days, when I was taught to double up tasks on back and forth trips to the kitchen. Then, I grabbed a ketchup bottle for Table Three while carrying drinks for Tables Five and Six and stopped to take an order at Table One on my way back. Now, I grab an outfit for my toddler, my phone, a book, my lipstick, socks, and a sweatshirt before I walk down the stairs. Sometimes, because I’m thinking about what we need to do to leave the house, or how many pants still fit my toddler, or whether the dog needs to go outside right away, I forget my earbuds.
Several months ago, I decided I’d had enough of running upstairs to grab my earbuds before taking a walk or going to the playground. I bought an extra pair. My favorite earbuds are not expensive, but it still feels like a luxury to have one set for my nightstand and one set for my purse. I can listen to my audiobook upstairs while folding laundry, and then listen to a podcast while I take Penny for a walk without extra mental effort or an extra trip. There’s so much going on in my brain, and this small addition to my life makes a surprisingly big difference in my days.
Reading by Kindle Light
My husband possesses the enviable gift of being able to fall asleep anywhere, right away. I possess the lovely combination of generalized anxiety disorder and night owl tendencies. In other words, he falls asleep first and I stare daggers at him. (Kidding, mostly). Despite his (loud) snoring, I like going to bed at the same time, and, luckily, he doesn’t mind if I keep my nightstand lamp on to read. However, I’ve found it better to ease into bedtime with the lights out and my Kindle on, a bit reminiscent of reading under the covers with a flashlight when I was 10.
I also fall asleep easier if I read a romance novel. It’s been so long since I’ve read anything other than romance before bed, I’m not sure I could go back. It’s a chicken and egg situation—I can’t remember if I started reading romance at night because of the soothing nature of a happy ever after, or if it started with reading on my Kindle at night, and my romance novels happen to live there. Either way, the routine has affected my reading life in surprising ways.
First, I read a whole lot of romance. An hour—or sometimes two—of reading before bed adds up, making romance my most read genre by far. The breadth of my romance reading allows me to share recommendations and read ahead of the publishing schedule. It also boosts my confidence in critiquing, analyzing, and writing about the genre.
Next, I seldom experience decision fatigue around what to read next. Because I know when I’m reading my beloved romance novels, it makes it easier for me to choose non-romance audiobooks, carve out time to focus on other genres, and pick up physical books during my toddler’s nap time. Years ago, I would have shuddered at the seemingly rigid structure of my reading life today, but right now it helps me achieve volume and variety. I like reading a lot of books, and I love reading across many genres. In a roundabout way, my nighttime reading ritual makes it all possible.
What is your most impactful reading ritual or routine? I would love to hear about it.
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For many years (ok most of my adult life!), I’ve read at night before going to sleep. I kept my books on my nightstand, handy when I got in bed. But over the summer, I started reading more during the daytime (in addition to before bed). I now bring my current read downstairs with me in the morning and place it on the kitchen counter. It’s there when I have 5 minutes of waiting time (while water boils) or when I have longer stretches of time during the day. My reading life has changed so much just by this simple act of carrying my book out of my bedroom each morning!
This is a belated comment on your post about waiting for the newborn stage to pass—that was me exactly! I have four grown children and infants were never my favorite. Even with my beloved grandchildren, I have enjoyed them so much more once they get to 12 months or do. Seems like society expects babies to be endlessly appealing but that was not my experience. Glad I am not the only one!