Its been a constant cycle of finish reading, close the book, and move on. And anytime a friend asks why I liked the book I liked, I’ve noticed I can’t recall a single detail about how it made me feel, the moments that made me pause, or even the lines that stuck with me, without wracking my brain.

This doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed majority of the books I’ve read, I think it just means that somewhere along the way I’ve forgotten what reading a book actually feels like.

To put it simply, I stopped sitting with what I read.

Since I can remember, reading has always felt consuming, the one space where I can experience every and any emotion. And I loved it. Who wouldn’t want a book that invokes such emotion in them that it brings them to tears, or even has them stewing in their thoughts for weeks.

Reading is an experience.

It’s getting to feel the tension build in a scene or physically feel your heart wrench whenever one of the characters you’ve come to know and love goes through something.

It’s losing yourself in all kinds of different worlds and genres and sometimes finding a piece of yourself there too.

Yet somewhere along the way, that feeling got replaced by data. Reading became more about hitting goals and finishing TBR lists. While neither is inherently bad, I’ve found that, personally, I’ve put too much emphasis on these things.

And in the process, losing the parts of reading that made it feel so consuming.

That is why this year I made the goal of Reading with Intention.

To notice the books I read. Notice the feelings that they give me. Notice the random little thoughts I have. And notice what captures my attention.

Now have I started on this goal? No.

But will I now, now that I’ve started to forget how all consuming reading can truly be? Yes.

To make this all happen, I’m starting small.

Annotating small lines here and there that really stood out to me. Taking notes on not just the story but also how it made me feel. And more importantly bringing back Book Reviews.

Reading with Intention doesn’t mean completely abandoning reading for fun. Its deciding to take a step back, slowing down, and taking in all the words an author has decided to put on the page, while giving myself the space to truly experience it.

And I encourage you to do the same. Whatever you are reading right now, let yourself feel it and let its words leave its mark on you.

And if you aren’t reading anything right now I urge you to pick something up that might interest you and give it a try.

From my small corner of the internet to yours

- Zo ₊˚⊹♡

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