Every Day I Read

1. Cultivate a Diverse Reading Diet

As your reading preferences start to take shape, that’s when you’ll go beyond bestsellers and start exploring the other shelves in the bookshop.

Start with accessibility. When beginning or returning to reading, bestsellers offer an excellent entry point. Their popular appeal means they resonate with a broad audience, providing an accessible and often engaging introduction to the world of books. This initial spark of interest is crucial for building momentum and discovering what truly captivates you, whether it's a compelling narrative or a thought-provoking concept.

Expand your horizons. Once comfortable, venture beyond the familiar. Explore a variety of genres:

• Small books: Offer quick satisfaction and are perfect for cluttered minds.
• Big books: Provide a rewarding challenge and a wealth of knowledge.
• Classics: Offer timeless wisdom and enduring influence.
• Novels & Poetry: Provide different lenses for understanding life and emotions.
  Reading widely, from social sciences to philosophy, broadens your perspective and lays a rich foundation for deeper exploration.

Deepen your understanding. After gaining breadth, you'll naturally find areas that call for more focused attention. Delve into specific authors or topics that resonate, even if they are initially difficult. Reading beyond your immediate interests, as exemplified by Peter Drucker's varied studies, allows you to observe the world from fresh angles and develop a more nuanced, holistic understanding.

2. Weave Reading into Every Day

I am always busy, but I still find small pockets of time to read.

Utilize fragmented time. In our perpetually busy lives, waiting for large, uninterrupted blocks of time to read is often unrealistic. The key is to identify and leverage "pockets of free time" that naturally occur throughout your day. These brief moments—on a train, waiting for a lift, at a hospital, or before bed—can accumulate into significant reading time.

Create intentional rituals. Transform mundane routines into opportunities for reading. Always carry a book with you, making it your constant companion, ready to fill any idle moment. Establish a calming bedtime ritual, where the warm glow of a bedside lamp turns your room into a personal reading sanctuary. Using a timer app for focused 20-minute sessions can also help train your concentration and build consistency.

Read through life's seasons. Books serve as steadfast companions, offering solace during anxiety and enhancing joy during happy times. Reading slowly, savoring each sentence, allows for deeper reflection and a more profound connection with the text. This deliberate engagement ensures that reading becomes not just an activity, but an integrated and cherished part of your daily existence, supporting you through all highs and lows.

3. Engage Deeply with the Text

You can transform your life – Süskind believes this is why we read.

Mark your intellectual journey. Don't just passively consume words; actively interact with them. Underlining sentences that resonate, scribbling notes in the margins, or even moving your lips while reading aloud creates a personal dialogue with the author. This practice transforms a book from a temporary read into a lasting record of your thoughts, questions, and evolving understanding.

Curate personal wisdom. Beyond marginalia, compile your favorite quotes. Whether you snap photos or type them into a digital note, collecting these powerful lines allows you to revisit them anytime you need inspiration, comfort, or a guiding thought. A single, well-chosen quote can be more impactful than an entire chapter, acting as a beacon when you feel lost or providing solace in moments of despair.

Embrace multi-sensory reading. While silent reading is efficient, occasionally vocalizing words can deepen comprehension and memory. Moving your lips or reading aloud, even softly, helps to reclaim scattered attention and synchronize your body with the text. This physical engagement, combined with thoughtful reflection, ensures that the book's essence seeps into your being, fostering genuine personal transformation and a richer reading experience.

4. Connect and Share Your Reading Journey

Reading with friends brings more joy than reading alone.

Discover through digital communities. The internet, particularly online bookshops, Facebook, and Instagram, offers a vibrant ecosystem for discovering new titles and observing what others are reading. Following publishers, indie bookshops, and literary accounts provides real-time updates on new releases and trending books, continuously expanding your "to-be-read" list with exciting possibilities.

Deepen understanding through discussion. Book clubs provide a unique and invaluable platform for critical thinking and the exchange of diverse opinions. Discussing a book with others, much like the French Baccalauréat philosophy exam, enriches your interpretation and challenges you to see beyond your own perspective. These conversations foster deeper connections with friends and the broader literary world, transforming reading into a shared intellectual adventure.

Explore interconnected literary worlds. Books are rarely isolated entities; they often reference other works, authors, or ideas. Following these connections, such as tracing the links between Julian Barnes and Gustave Flaubert, can lead to a more profound and intellectually stimulating reading experience. Sharing these discoveries, whether through book reviews or casual chats, amplifies the joy of reading and creates a rich tapestry of literary connections.

5. Choose Books Over Digital Distractions

To draw closer to books, we have to distance ourselves from the internet.

Recognize the digital erosion of focus. Modern life, saturated with digital devices and instant gratification, has significantly shortened our attention spans and eroded our ability to concentrate. As Nicholas Carr argues in "The Shallows," constant online scanning and quick information consumption rewire our brains, making deep, sustained reading increasingly challenging. Our minds become prone to distraction, constantly pulling us towards our phones.

Reclaim your concentration with physical books. To counteract this digital influence, consciously prioritize physical books for serious reading. Unlike devices, physical books impose natural "constraints"—no touch functions, no app switching, just you and the text. This absence of digital distractions fosters deeper immersion, improves analytical ability, and allows your brain to engage with content in a more sustained and meaningful way.

Practice intentional digital restraint. While a complete digital detox is often impractical, regulating screen time is essential for cultivating focus. Implement strategies like deleting frequently used apps from your home screen, setting specific boundaries for device use, or employing a timer app to dedicate focused blocks of time solely to reading. The more you engage in deep reading, the more you'll rewire your brain for sustained attention, enhancing your overall cognitive abilities.

6. Read for Profound Self-Discovery

Books may not give me answers, but they nudge me towards the right direction.

Seek personal growth and resilience. Reading is a powerful journey of self-improvement, helping you cultivate strength, maturity, and wisdom. It provides a space to reflect on past mistakes, understand complex emotions, and solidify your convictions. While these are lofty aspirations, books offer diverse perspectives and insights that fill personal gaps, guiding you through life's inherent complexities and fostering inner resilience.

Challenge your established worldview. Books that make you uncomfortable or act as an "axe for the frozen sea inside" are crucial for growth. Engaging with difficult truths, such as the raw realities of the Columbine tragedy, helps dismantle stereotypes and biases, fostering empathy and a more nuanced understanding of humanity. This process of confronting discomfort is vital for expanding your perspective and evolving into a more compassionate individual.

Preserve your authentic self. In a consumerist society that often dictates narrow definitions of happiness and success, books help you define your own values and priorities. They offer stories that resonate with your inner struggles, validating your feelings and reminding you that you are not alone. By collecting these "story vending machines," you build a personal arsenal of wisdom that strengthens your sense of self and empowers you to live authentically, free from external pressures.

7. Embrace the Freedom to Not Finish

You don’t always have to finish it.

Release the burden of obligation. Many readers feel a strong compulsion to finish every book they start, even if their interest has waned. This can transform reading into a dreaded chore, leading to frustration and a potential disengagement from books altogether. It's crucial to recognize that not every book will resonate with you at every stage of your life, and that's perfectly acceptable.

Prioritize genuine connection. Just like with personal relationships, some books connect more deeply than others. If a book no longer sparks your curiosity, offers insight, or brings you joy, it is perfectly acceptable to put it down without regret. Insisting on finishing a book you dislike consumes valuable time and mental energy that could be better spent on a book that truly captivates and benefits you.

Acknowledge life's fluidity. A book that feels unreadable today might become a cherished favorite in the future. Your interests, experiences, and personal growth are constantly evolving, which in turn changes what you seek from literature. Embrace this fluidity; a book you abandon now might be the perfect read for a different version of yourself later, offering profound new insights upon a second attempt when the timing is right.

8. Appreciate the Enduring Power of Books

Books are much more. They are a way of being fully human.

Envision a world without literature. Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" vividly portrays a dystopian future where books are systematically destroyed, and with them, authors, history, and collective wisdom. Without books, future generations would lose access to the profound stories, the painful efforts, and the deepest expressions of humanity captured by writers across millennia. This thought experiment powerfully underscores the irreplaceable value of literature.

Books as conduits of knowledge and empathy. Beyond mere entertainment, books are fundamental for transmitting knowledge, ideas, and cultural heritage. They allow us to understand historical events, scientific discoveries, and philosophical thoughts that have shaped our world. Crucially, they foster empathy by enabling us to step into others' shoes, transcending our individual experiences to connect with universal human struggles, triumphs, and emotions.

The essence of human experience. Books are not merely an escape; they are a fundamental aspect of what it means to be fully human. They challenge our thinking, preserve our sense of self, and offer guidance through life's myriad complexities. From ancient records to contemporary insights, books provide a continuous, evolving dialogue across generations, ensuring that we remain connected to our past, understand our present, and courageously imagine our future.

Last updated: December 5, 2025