Reading is one of my favorite things to do, but I love to do it slowly. It is the thing that I look forward to doing everyday after supper and my bath and once I’m ready to sit down for the night. To finally wind for the night with coffee or matcha beside me, candle lit, and whatever I am reading at the moment. Sometimes it’s a book, sometimes a magazine or blog post from one of my favorite bloggers, or a Substack. Either way, I’m settled in for the night and reading something, and slowly savoring it.
Being a slow reader is by choice, and how I prefer to read. I don’t struggle with words or naturally read slow, but I am always afraid I am going to miss something or miss learning something by reading too fast. Reading slow allows me to savor and fully embrace and understand what I am reading. When I do find myself reading fast, my mind tends to drift to other things, and I find myself having read a whole page(and sometimes even a whole chapter), that I don’t even remember what I just read. That is because I was mindlessly reading, like how we mindlessly scroll.
I have found that when I slow down and read more methodically, and strive to savor and understand each word, that I am more engrossed in what I am reading no matter what it is. It helps me to remember what I read better. It makes me feel more calm. Forcing myself to read slowly, paying attention fully to every word, I gain so much more from what I read. Sometimes when I finish a book, I get sad, because I enjoyed it so much. For some things I read, I may write in the book, underline, highlight, or take notes.
Rushing through a book, can tend to make me feel more nervous or anxious. Like it is a race. I want to feel relaxed and calm when I read. I used to want to read 100 books a year. While I didn’t do that, I found I was mindlessly reading just to get to the finish line. That is not the reason I love reading. It isn’t a race or a competition. The pleasure is in the act and atomosphere of reading, and then also the story or words you are reading. That is the real pleasure.
How do you like to read…slow or fast? Please know that no one way is more right than the other. There is no right or wrong way to read, in regards to reading slow or fast. It is really just a preference. Either way, the main thing is that you are reading and that is what matters.
