Reading Is Not A Race: Slow Down And Savour It

Far too often we are caught up in the numbers and trackers to read because it is a pleasure and a privilege

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Books got me through a lot in life. And I am not alone in that experience. It is frustrating to see something so precious and beautiful reduced to a collection of metrics and trackers. Thanks to the productivity industry, the online space is buzzing with tips on how you can read more but in the most unhelpful way — 100 books per year, a book every day or, worse, book summaries!

Reading is one of those habits, like exercise, that everyone can benefit from, so yes, everyone should be doing it. The reason I think that some may not enjoy it as much as others is that those who don’t haven’t found the book that’s right for them in the season of life that they are in!

Some years back, when I was going through a tumultuous period, I had a difficult time concentrating on something like Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City and it was frustrating me that I wasn’t as immersed as I wanted to be. I struggled to finish it and may have skipped bits to do so because I hated abandoning a book. It wasn’t just that book; there were others that I felt similarly about.