Reading Changes Us
For many years I thought books were more beautiful without torn pages, underlined sentences, or broken spines. I believed that a read book should be kept on the home shelf in exactly the same condition as it is in the shop (on display). I comfortably left behind all the books with yellowed pages or creased covers.”
But one day I saw a beautiful sentence and folded a corner of the page so I could remember it later. After that, I started underlining sentences in pencil and placing sticky notes on paragraphs I liked. Later, I took the liberty of writing between the lines, marking the book forever and allowing the people I lend it to to know my deepest thoughts. (I am, therefore, one step away from drawing on the pages!)
If we read the same book at different stages of life, it will affect us in different ways. Now imagine the power a book can have when, besides containing the story of its characters, it also holds a little of our own story in its margins. I still find immaculate books beautiful. But now I believe used books are beautiful too. And I changed the way I read. Reading changes us.
I read to discover other realities (or distance myself from my own), to live other lives, to learn about and reflect on different topics, to entertain myself, to rest, to laugh or cry (or, as someone once said, to feel feelings). At the end of the day, what really matters to me is that moment I spend between words. I prefer to read in the morning. By the end of the day, my eyes already feel heavy. Having to work gets in the way of my plans to read just one more chapter, and it’s dangerous for my sanity to leave it unfinished. There was a time when I cared about abandoning a book halfway. Today I already do it—still somewhat reluctantly, it’s true—but certain that the comfort I’ll find in another will make me forget the betrayal of an unfinished book. Reading changes us. Reading time is precious. I don’t want to spend it rolling my eyes in frustration.
There are those who never read synopses, those who buy books for their covers, and those who read the last sentence before they even begin. That’s not my case.
Lie—yes, I do buy them for their covers!
Some people prefer to read in silence, others read while listening to music (did you know many books now come with a playlist?).
There are people who don’t leave the house without their Kobo in their bag, and others who refuse to give up paper books (I also preferred physical books—until I had a baby who likes to sleep in my arms. Reading changes us. Motherhood too).
Classics, erotica, or young adult (we can read only one genre, or one at a time. Or, if we’re feeling wild, we can even read several at once).
Reading is simply reading. (And it changes us). And it’s even more beautiful when each person does it in the way that feels right for them.
Catarina + Journaling = a love affair and a workshop
