Falling into Reading
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This year I’ve rekindled my relationship with reading — maybe it’s the wannabe millennial in me, maybe it’s all the BookTok recommendations I’m getting.
The last time I’ve seriously read a book was back in high school. I remembered Tess of the d’Urburvilles and the sheer TRAUMA it gave me (named her dead baby Sorrow and then buried her? Goodbye.). It turned me off from reading; a subconscious thought in my mind thought of reading as an assignment, so it wasn’t fun.
In an age where teens, adults, and iPad babies doom scroll, I feel like I needed a change or rather, a digital detox. With some encourage from my sister, I picked up my first book as a 25 year old teenager: Miss Matched by Wendy Million. Yes, it is a romance, and no I did not know what I was getting myself into.
how did it go? was it transformative?
The answer is initially no. Was the book amazing? No. BUT with any sort of media like TV Shows, Movies, Music, etc. It takes time for you to experiment and find what you like. Instead of feeling discouraged, I actually felt a bit more encouraged to try new books. I always had this weird phobia of finishing a book, like I just didn’t want it to end. It’s the same feeling you get after finishing a really good TV series, the well-what-am-i-going-to-do-with-my-life-now kind of feeling — I wanted to avoid it at all costs in case I become emotionally attached. But since I was able to conquer this one book, I had the confidence to take on more.
next quest: find the book that makes me fall in love with reading
After feeling unsatisfied with Miss Matched, I found a new book — Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood. From there, my love for reading exploded. My shoes, socks and toes were blown away. We’re talking wigs snatched, ankles broken and laying in bed with my feet kicking the air. This is what we came here for! This book is the book that put me in a chokehold for reading. We stan Jack and Elsie all the way!
Like, y’all were reading this? I was too busy thinking reading was for the stone ages.
I don’t want to hype up the book so much so that when/if you decide to read it, it’s a let down, but for those who:
✅ like romance that isn’t too steamy (my adult romance cherry was popped and I was not ready)
✅ like a unique, relatable setting for those in STEM majors
✅ like a single perspective (don’t get me started on dual pov in romance, bleh 🙄)
You should give this book a shot! I was not sponsored to promote this book (although I wish I was), but if anyone likes romance that makes you giggle gaggle, then consider this a graceful introduction.
✨ consider this your sign to get back into reading ✨
All jokes aside, coming into my twenties made me realize how little of a life I had — I had no hobbies, nothing I could wholeheartedly say I enjoy. I spent so much of my adolescence and young adult life studying or working that I didn’t have time for myself. Consider reading as an opportunity for you to detach from the digital world and enjoy time with yourself. Life is too short to only focus on study or work — it’s meant to be lived and enjoyed.
