How To Read

1. Turn on Do Not Disturb
2. Wear glasses (if you need them)
3. Make a hot drink*
4. Have a pencil for annotating*
5. Open the book

*IF you have time

Studying Literature

At A level I had 7 texts to study in 4 months. I watched Austen’s Persuasion on Netflix (the 2022 version, it’s terrible) and read a few articles about Austen’s literary style. I couldn’t watch the Huckleberry Finn movie because I found it quite boring but I knew the story and American History so I knew my essay was going to eat.

I spotted the poetry section using the process of elimination and it worked out because poetry can mean anything. As someone that writes poetry and has studied literature since I was 11, I was confident in my ability to analyse poems. I got a few bits of context from the internet and called it a day.

The books I read front to back were the plays: Indian Ink and Much Ado About Nothing. Drama is probably my favourite genre. I think the format of plays brings it to life through the back and forth between characters, which keeps me engaged. I also don’t think any Shakespeare movie adaptations are good, because they take away from the dramatic effect of having an audience. After all that, I got an A in literature: proof that God exists. 

How Do I Read?

To be honest, I don’t.
I barely read during my A level studies and it’s only gotten worse. It’s not as simple as opening the first chapter anymore. I’m no longer assigned chapters to read or poems to analyse. There is no fighting for my life trying to answer a 25-mark question about a book I had little to no choice in choosing. And yet reading within the frames of literature feels easier than it does now.

Now, there’s no motivation. What do I gain? There’s no gold star or A grade to work for. Since primary school, reading has been rewarded but now I’m at university studying Chemical Engineering: everything is an equation. Numbers + letters = not fun.

Last year, I didn’t complete a single title. I was stuck at chapter 6 of Nervous Conditions, fell off and never got back on it. I had a 9-5, then started university, all while juggling being a single mother of three: my timeline, feed, and for you page. I’m spoilt for choice when it comes to entertainment and like a pinball machine, I bounce back and forth between social media apps and streaming services. Free me. In a world where I struggle to find the will to live, the will to read isn’t exactly something I can easily locate.

Baby Steps

I was gifted 2 titles for Christmas with beautiful spines: they look great on my bookshelf (thanks Mum). I got Their Eyes Are Watching God in November and I’ve had Nervous Conditions for a whileee. I have options. I started reading a collection of short stories called Nightshift, which helped me get into a routine of setting time apart to read during my day. It worked. Then I started to carry the book with me to class.

I got overwhelmed and lost in a sea of numbers and graphs and read it on the way home. It calmed me down and made me feel better. The feeling that came with seeking refuge in a novel that day transported me to my childhood. We’re moving in the right direction.

I’m trying to stop scrolling so that I have more time to reflect and think about MYSELF. Social media does a good job of enabling us to escape who we are temporarily in order to hop into 15 seconds of everyone else’s ‘reality’. The internet will forever be a part of me, don’t get me wrong but if my time and attention pay someone else’s bills then surely it’s extremely valuable.

In Same Year, Same Me (not me referencing myself) I said 2024 is about living. That involves being intentional. Intention to me looks like choosing a good title, putting time aside, carrying the book, turning on DND and lowering my screen time (it’s a work in process). I’ve chosen to read Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and I will be bringing back a ‘Reading Record’ system of sorts to aid with writing reviews and to keep track of any questions I have. Stay tuned for more book related articles.

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How do YOU read a book? Comment below. Also, feel free to recommend some titles below. I’m into poetry, plays and Black Literature, but feel free to recommend anything!

p.s. it’s my birthday in 2 days!!! ⭐︎