My actual reading ritual started when I was in my final year of my college. While everyone was eagerly anticipating which company is going to come to the campus with those ‘hot’ job opportunities, I was the one ‘busy’ with the making of a reader.

I grabbed and gobbled every book that I came across – from marketing, to sales, to branding, to leadership, to management, and beautiful memoirs and autobiographies. I challenged myself to just that ‘one more’ extra page as I learned to bring some endurance and depth into what I read.

And since then, there’s no looking back (apart from the beautiful books I have read). 

10+ years and the warmth and support of books continue to enrich me with its intellectual rigour and soulful reading experience.

So then: am I allowed to share how I read these books over a period of time? Reading that sinks in with its valuable lessons and contributions that have shaped me as wise and dutiful person?

Here are 3 ways you can consume a book with its resonance in your mind:

  1. Look for the reading menu before you order your scrumptious book. Whenever I visit a book store, I am greeted by the vastness and grandeur of the books and their respective range. So, I look for the way the author has structured the book in its ‘contents page’ – that way, I get to learn how much depth + novelty is there in the book. Gradually the more reading menus to view, you sense a pattern in which authors express their words. As you read more books, you become picky and gripped into what you’d like to read over a period of time.
  2. Use a pen/ pencil/ highlighter to consume the nutritious content. Every book has nutritional content. It’s best to use a pen to highlight those pieces of content that seem ‘new’ to your mind to digest. Later, you can make notes of the same and attribute the author for the goodness you found in the book. Also: this notes or highlighted points can be shared with your audience giving credit to the author for the same. Sharing knowledge collectively forges better reading communities and culture.
  3. Research on the author and his/her intent behind writing the book. Every author had an intention and purpose behind writing the book. When you find a book fairly exciting and fresh, research about the author and his/her background to get the general outlook of his/her writing biases and neutrality in written expression. This gives you the impetus to forge with reading more as your interest sparks.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit your favourite bookstore and grab your cuppa so you enjoy the books you wish to read and absorb!
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash