How to Read

I read a lot. I read fairly quickly.

People like to comment on this, saying "Emily, how do you read so much/so fast?!", "Emily, how many books have you read this week?", "What are you reading now?" and so on.

So here you go. This is a guide for how to read.

Pick a book, any book. Go to a library, a bookstore of any sort. Grab a book off the shelf and buy it if it looks even sort of good. Take it home with you. Sit on your couch, and open up the book. Bring it to your face and breathe in. Close your eyes, prepare for take off.

Open up to page one. Start reading. Fall in love with the characters, the plot, the language. Cry, laugh, be appalled. It's all natural. Feel what the characters are feeling. Identify with one or more of them if you can. That can always help. Look up words you don't know or words that you have forgotten.

Stand up, stretch, make yourself some tea. If it's time for bed, sleep. Then read more, allow the "real" world to fall away so that you are only left with the world of the author's creation. Imagine what it looks like. Smell the book again, as many times as you want. Hold it close if a character is having a hard time, or if they die. Which obviously sucks. Let feeling come over you.

Have another cup of tea, or coffee, or a bottle of water. Shift your reading position. I personally like to read while I am upside-down. But maybe that's just me. Forget the world around you, you might even forget to eat. I would advise having an apple, a bowl of strawberries, or popcorn nearby. Sit until your legs are sore, until you feel as though you've been walking for hours. Smell the book again.

Once you reach the end, it's okay to cry. Slowly walk out of the new world, savoring it until the back cover closes. Breathe in the book's smell once again, hold it close, and then repeat.