You're Still a Reader, Even When You're Not Reading

Sometimes I don't read.

Not:

"I only managed 20 pages today."

I mean...

I don't read.

Days can go past.

Sometimes longer.

Life gets busy.

I work a close shift.

I'm tired.

My toddler has apparently decided we're operating at maximum chaos.

There's something happening with the business.

The house needs attention.

Or I finally get into bed intending to read and spend my entire reading window scrolling through my phone instead.

It happens.

And when it happens for long enough, there's this weird feeling that starts creeping in.

"I used to read so much."

I hate the phrase "I used to be a reader"

Because usually the person saying it still loves books.

They still walk into a bookshop and immediately disappear.

They still have books sitting beside the bed.

They still save recommendations.

They still see a gorgeous cover and pick it up.

They still have a TBR they'll need several lifetimes to finish.

They still get excited when someone starts talking about a book they loved.

They still want to read.

Life just got in the way for a while.

That doesn't make you an ex-reader.

It makes you a reader who hasn't been reading much lately.

There's a difference.

You don't lose your reader membership

There's no minimum requirement.

Nobody is checking.

You don't have to read 52 books a year.

You don't have to read every day.

You don't have to finish a book every month.

You don't have to keep up with new releases.

You don't have to know what everyone on BookTok is talking about.

And you definitely don't need to hand in your membership card because you haven't opened a book in six weeks.

Actually, I don't know who issues the membership cards.

But I'd like one.

Preferably gold foil.

Sometimes life is just louder than books

This is the reality for a lot of us.

I love reading.

But I'm also a mum to an energetic toddler.

A wife.

A receptionist.

A small business owner.

Cleaner.

Chef.

Taxi.

And whatever other job gets added to the list on a particular day.

Reading is important to me.

But it isn't always the most urgent thing in my life.

That's okay.

Some seasons of life leave loads of room for books.

Others don't.

Sometimes I can tuck myself into bed and disappear into a fantasy world for 30 minutes.

Other nights?

Absolutely not happening.

That doesn't mean I suddenly stopped loving books.

But I do notice when reading has been missing

This is how I know.

I miss it.

I miss the escape.

I miss being completely absorbed in a story.

I miss wondering what's waiting around the corner in the next chapter.

I miss meeting characters and becoming far too emotionally invested in their fictional problems.

I miss going to bed excited because I know my book is waiting for me.

And eventually I get that little itch again.

"I really want to read something."

That's usually all I need.

Not a reading plan.

Not a new annual goal.

Not a promise that I'm going to read every night from now on.

Just...

a book.

You don't need to "get back on track"

I think this is where we accidentally make returning to reading harder than it needs to be.

We decide we're going to get back into reading.

Now it's a project.

Right.

New routine.

Twenty pages a day.

Phone off at 8pm.

Four books this month.

Let's go.

And three nights later, life happens.

We miss a night.

Then another.

And suddenly we're failing at reading again.

No thanks.

What if there is no track?

What if tonight you just read?

That's it.

One chapter.

Ten pages.

Five minutes.

Whatever you've got.

You don't need to make any promises about tomorrow.

And please pick something you actually want to read

This is not the time for:

"I really should read this because it's been on my shelf for three years."

No.

We're trying to rekindle something here.

Pick the book you're excited about.

The ridiculous fantasy.

The romance you can finish in a weekend.

The thriller everyone's been talking about.

The enormous sci-fi novel you've been intimidated by.

The comfort read you've already read four times.

I don't care.

Pick the thing that makes you want to turn the page.

And if the book you choose isn't doing it?

Put it down.

Pick another.

We've already established my feelings about suffering through books you hate.

Life's too short.

You don't need to catch up on your TBR either

This one's important.

If you haven't been reading much lately, please don't look at your unread books and think:

"God, I'm so behind."

Behind?

They're books.

They're not invoices.

Your TBR isn't going to start charging late fees.

I have around 150 unread books.

If I started treating those as overdue tasks, I'd never want to look at my bookshelf again.

They're not obligations.

They're possibilities.

That's much more fun.

All those stories are still waiting for me.

I'll get to some of them.

Probably not all of them.

And I'll almost certainly keep buying more, which isn't helping the situation.

But that's future-me's problem.

Sometimes you just need a little spark

This is one of the reasons I love making reading playful.

If I don't know what to pick, give me a challenge.

Find a book with a map.

Find something purple.

Pick a title beginning with M.

Give me a Bingo square.

Give me something that stops me staring at 150 books and makes the decision smaller.

That's where Tales in Ink originally came from.

I wanted something that made finding my next read fun instead of overwhelming.

Not something that told me I wasn't reading enough.

And that's still really important to me.

I don't want a reading journal sitting on someone's shelf making them feel guilty because they haven't touched it lately.

Open it again.

Carry on.

There's no judgement coming from the pages.

Maybe you're in that season right now

Maybe you haven't read in months.

But you're reading this blog.

On a website about books.

Which tells me something.

Maybe that part of you hasn't gone anywhere.

Maybe it's just been quiet.

You don't need to become the reader you were five years ago.

Your life might be completely different now.

Mine certainly is.

Maybe reading looks different too.

Maybe it's no longer entire afternoons lost inside a book.

Maybe it's 30 minutes before bed.

Maybe it's ten minutes while the kids are occupied.

Maybe it's an audiobook in the car.

Maybe it's one chapter tonight.

That's still reading.

And you're still a reader.

So let's make this ridiculously easy

If you've been away from books for a while, don't set a goal.

Don't count anything.

Don't make a schedule.

Go to your shelf.

Pick something that looks fun.

Not educational.

Not impressive.

Not something you think you should read.

Something you genuinely want to know what happens in.

Open it.

Read the first page.

Then see what happens.

That's all.

Because sometimes you don't need to completely rebuild your reading habit.

You just need a story good enough to remind you why you loved reading in the first place.

And if you're currently in a reading slump, tell me:

What's the book that could tempt you back?

Or, if you've recently escaped one...

what book got you reading again?

Someone else here might need exactly that recommendation.