My 5 personal reading rules

I used to be extremely rigid about certain aspects of reading.

And, I know many of you are rigid about certain aspects of reading too. 

It has taken me decades, but I've become much more flexible and relaxed about my reading habits. I hope you'll find my five personal reading rules helpful, and I hope they might give you permission to become more relaxed in your reading as well. 

1. The 20 pages or 1/3 rule

If I pick up a book and the first 20 pages don't hold my attention or make me want to keep reading, I allow myself to quit and move on to another book. If I make it past 1/3 of the book, but my attention starts to fade, I also allow myself to put the book down and move on. 

Admittedly, I would love to allow myself to quit a book at any point, but I'm finding that 2/3 of the way through my current book, I'm not willing to quit. My current book has taken some turns that I've really not liked and that have made me question if I should keep reading. The first 20 pages and the first 1/3 captured my attention and I was enjoying it until about 2/3 of the way through.

Of course, these are just guidelines and we should all feel free to quit a book whenever we just aren't interested anymore.

2. It's ok to stop reading mid-chapter

You have permission to stop reading mid-chapter. I have several friends who won't allow themselves to stop reading mid-chapter. For some, it's about continuity and having a natural stopping point. For a few, it's a mental block and a bit of a compulsion that they must stop only between chapters. 

I make good use of bookmarks specifically so I can stop reading mid-chapter, but I also use page flags or sticky notes to mark the specific line on the page where I'm stopping. 

One of my friends only reads books with shorter chapters so that she knows she can easily finish a chapter before she stops reading -- some of my favorite books have had lengthy chapters and I would have missed out if I'd given up on them because of an "I must finish this chapter" mentality.

3. It's ok to skip "classics"

Read what you want. You don't have to read classics or what someone else thinks counts as good literature. I love contemporary fiction and don't want to set that aside because someone else thinks a different set of books have more value because they are considered classics. 

4. Move while reading, if you want to

I love to read while I walk. I find it calming and leisurely. Of course, it's not always safe, but when it is safe, it's one of my favorite pleasures in life. 

As a private tutor, most of my reading students have done best if they've been allowed to move while reading. Some might need to walk in circles around their bedroom. Some might need to bounce on the balls of their feet. Others might benefit most from sitting on an exercise ball. Some benefit from sitting in chairs that move (wobble chairs, rocking chairs, etc.).

5. Shop independent whenever possible

Although I occasionally link to Amazon when blogging about various books, I truly love to shop at independent bookstores. Seek out your community's independent book shops or buy from my favorite shops online (none of these are sponsored, nor are they affiliate links):

The Bookshop, Nashville, TN 

Vintage Books, Vancouver, WA

White Oak Books, Vancouver, WA

Capital Books, Sacramento, CA

Maggie Mae's, Gresham, OR 

 

Ultimately, I don't believe there should be rules around reading for your own pleasure or your own knowledge. Read what you want, when you want, how you want. 

What are your personal reading rules?

Book Review: Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin

As I write this, I am sitting in a friend's apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'll be in Argentina for an entire month, and as I noted in THIS post, one of my reading strategies is to choose a theme -- for January, I decided that my theme would be Argentinian fiction. 

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At the start of January, I chose four books:

• Thus Were Their Faces by Silvina Ocampo
• Trafalgar by Angelica Gorodischer
• The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezon Camara
• Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin

(I tried to include the accent symbols in the author names, but my computer and/or Blogger wouldn't cooperate!)

The first book I finished is the short story collection, Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin -- winner of the National Book Award for Translated Literature in 2022. Not only did this book fit my theme, but by being short stories, I also felt like I was accomplishing some reading goals with every short story that I finished which, in turn, helped to keep me reading. 

Schweblin's book is seven short stories in which something is missing or lost or fading away. Each of them is deeply rooted in realism with an edge that cozies right up next to magical realism. Magical realism is deeply rooted in Latin American literature and deeply tied to Argentinean literature specifically, primarily starting in the 1940s. 

The short stories in this collection are at times disorienting -- one centers on a woman and her incredibly lonely descent into dementia. Another focuses on a young girl who finds herself alone amidst a family emergency and a meeting with someone that feels at once sinister and exhilarating. Another involves possible ghosts. Then, there are the choices made -- or not made -- between spouses that leads to a sense of loss.

Each story feels complete in and of itself, but each also is dark and somewhat mysterious without falling into the magical aspects of magical realism. Most of the stories feel highly modern, though a couple could be set across a few time frames from the last 100 or so years. 

These are truly stories of loss and emptiness, as suggested by the collection title. According to the reading app, The StoryGraph, my reading preferences are typically reflective, emotional, sad, and dark -- Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin, definitely fits with these unconscious preferences, particularly the story about the woman with dementia. I highly recommend this collection!

What are you reading? Is it part of a larger theme that you've chosen? Share in a comment!

3 Ways to Read More in 2024

Please note: product and book links may be of an affiliate nature. Purchasing through these links may result in a small commission for me at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance! Book links will mostly be to Bookshop.org, though occasionally may link to Amazon or to my own blog posts about books mentioned.

Back in June of 2020, I wrote THIS blog post about how to increase your reading when times are tough. As I write this, Covid-19 still exists, but many (most?) of us have gone back to somewhat normal life; however, that doesn't mean we don't all experience ups and downs that sometimes impact our favorite hobbies, including reading.

I thought it was time to revisit the idea of how to increase the amount we read when things aren't going the way we'd like.

I've experienced dips in my reading not only during the pandemic, but also when I've found myself grieving, I've become burnt out on work, I've been sick, and so on. Sometimes, I'm just so bored that even reading doesn't appeal to me -- and it's my favorite activity!

Over the past four months, I've dealt with one illness and injury after another -- several bad colds, a broken ankle, Covid, a rare form of pneumonia, a sprained wrist, a torn ligament in my other wrist (I'm wearing a wrist immobilizer as I type this!). Plus, I've been dealing with job related uncertainties and a few other life complications.

As much as I love to read, it hasn't always been at the forefront of my interests amid the turmoil of life. 

In my last post about how to read more, I suggested reading first thing in the morning, having a designated reading spot, and reading something easy or familiar. I still stand by those ideas, but here are the three things I've done over the last few months to get or keep myself reading:

FIND A THEME

I'm writing this from Buenos Aires, Argentina, so I thought it would be fun to read books by Argentinian authors. I started by just doing a Google search and then cross referenced the authors I found with what would be available as e-books from my local library. I'm 90% of the way through my first of four books -- a collection of short stories called Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin. 

I think if you can find a theme that's relevant to your current situation in life, to a specific intense interest, or something you've been interested in for a long time, you'll be more likely to keep reading than if you just choose a random theme. I opted to choose just four books for my four week trip, and I'll probably only realistically read three of them. In addition to choosing a theme, consider limiting the number of books or the amount of time you spend on the theme so that you don't overwhelm yourself.

TRY SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

Following from our first tip, try finding collections of short stories. Instead of feeling like you've read 20 pages and still have a whole lot of pages to go, you'll get a little dose of satisfaction after finishing every short story, even if you aren't finished with the book! 

Knowing that I've already finished several of the stories in Seven Empty Houses, I'm more motivated to finish the rest! But, I already feel accomplished thanks to having read several complete stories within the book. 

CUT BACK ON SOCIAL MEDIA SCROLLING

I think most of us go through periods where we find ourselves just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling on social media. I honestly love Instagram and I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends that live far away, but I also find myself really wasting a lot of time just scrolling. 

Several weeks ago, I decided to do a huge social media purge. I went through both Facebook and Instagram and unfollowed, unliked, and removed a lot of accounts that I actually don't enjoy or that don't serve my interests or needs anymore. I also deleted several that seemed redundant. 

I've noticed that I'm enjoying my time on social media more now that I've worked on curated my feeds, but I'm also spending less time on there! Instead of constant, unsatisfactory scrolling, I'll catch up on things and then put my phone down in order to read. 

BONUS: PUT YOUR TECH IN ANOTHER ROOM

In my prior post, I suggested creating a cozy reading nook. Well, take it a step further. Once you've created your cozy reading spot and purged a whole bunch of social media junk, practice putting your phone, tablet, and other tech (including smart watches!) in another room while you read! I'm much more likely to keep reading if I can't reach for my phone or tablet from where I'm sitting.

Each of these has taken time to get used to and to become natural habits, but I've definitely increased my reading over the past few months by incorporating these ideas.

How are you getting more reading in? Share your tips in a comment!