What do you love most about reading? For me I enjoy the cozy, nurturing vibes that come from curling up with a good book that is not only entertaining but enriches the mind. While reading is a form of entertainment and a popular past time it’s also a sweet self-care ritual where you get to appreciate the artistry of words dancing across a page with the power to transform you. And with the uptick in more burned out and stressed readers there’s a need to dial it back and embrace the beauty of romanticizing hobbies and daily tasks to increase presence, purpose and balance. Today, I’m going to share how you can get in on this and learn how to romanticize reading creating habits for a more magical and enriching experience.
Why Romanticize Reading?
We’ve come a long way from assigned reading and being forced to read books we had little to no interest in when in high school and college. Now we primarily read for pleasure and entertainment. Yet, it’s easy to diminish reading as a chore or past time because while enjoyable this hobby does require active participation where you’re plugged in and engaged with the content. Which can be hard in a society that’s chronically online and plugged in at all times.
Yet, learning how to romanticize daily reading can help you get more from your hobby and engage deeply with the books you read. Becoming focused on being present when you read and savoring the experience. This can unlock a new path towards mindfulness, self-care and intentional living.
Creating the Perfect Reading Atmosphere
Create A Cozy Reading Nook
You can turn pretty much and hidden space or area of your home into a cozy reading spot. All you need is a comfortable cozy chair or bench perfect for snuggling in, a comfy throw blanket, candles either the ambient battery powered LED candles or aromatic fire-burning candles, and soft lighting.
Ideas for nook locations could be a built in nook under the stairs, a corner of your living room or bedroom, a window sill where you can include a bench or space to cozy up in.
Music and Ambiance
Once you have the location set you have to set the mood. This can be easily accomplished by layering in music, preferably instrumental background music, or ambiance background videos you can find and play on YouTube.
This is the time to get creative and consider pairing your music to match the genre or themes of the book. Reading a mystery thriller think of suspenseful background music, fantasy pairs well with epic instrumentals think Lord of the Rings, and romance works well with sweet or sensual music depending on the mood you’re seeking to create.
Aesthetic Props
When you’re scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram you stumble across the most eye-pleasing depictions of reading. Try to capture those vibes but without rushing out and buying a whole heap of stuff you likely don’t need. Keep it simple with beautiful bookmarks, annotation tools that are color-coded to match your book, or a beautiful ritual such as a nice pot of warm tea.
Romanticize the Act of Reading
To really savor your reading sessions you have to be intentional and remain present. You can start by enriching your reading with annotation, journaling or note-taking which prioritizes you slowing down and focusing on passages. Truly immersing yourself in the story and lingering on passages to capture quotes.
You can also make reading a sensual feast for the senses. Taking note to how it feels to turn the pages, the unique scent of different books from new, old, and books from the library. What it sounds like when you’re flipping the pages.
If you’re an e-book reader you can turn on features where when you tap it mimics the look of turning a physical page. You can play with different lighting settings and fonts to see how you engage with them differently. For audiobooks you can experiment with different speed settings, notice the emotion and idiosyncrasies of the narrator and how it makes you feel and engage with the book’s content. If you’d like you can make it an immersive reading experience and listen to the audiobook while reading the physical book or e-book.
Make Reading A Part of Your Soft-Life Routine
When it comes to making reading a consistent habit you eagerly look forward to as part of your daily self-care consider pairing it with other rituals in your daily routines. Perhaps you read a few pages or a chapter in the morning with your coffee. Or, wind down with a novel thirty minutes before bedtime. Or, you listen to an audiobook while performing your self-care ablutions in the morning or evening.
You can also include reading in key experiences. For instance, reading in the park on a sunny day. Taking a relaxing bubble bath while listening to an audiobook. Or visiting your favorite café to enjoy your recent read.
And perhaps my favorite thing is to treat reading as a seasonal experience. As the seasons change and shift adjust the books you read with them. For fall chose cozy mysteries, romances and fantasy. For summer think of sunny beach reads or books where people travel to exotic locations.
When it comes to romanticizing reading it’s about slowing down and remaining present. Learning how to make reading a part of your daily routines not because you’re chasing an arbitrary goal or trying to hit a certain page count. It’s because you enjoy how reading makes you feel about yourself, and how it enriches you mentally and emotionally. Challenging you to think critically while flexing your empathy muscles while looking through the eyes of someone else’s story and gaining a new perspective. Perhaps most important of all is you get to embrace books and reading for the literary art pieces they are.
Here’s a gentle soft-life challenge try one new reading ritual this week. Whether it’s enjoying a cozy reading session at the park or spending quality time with a book before bed. How can you romanticize reading?
