This Helped Me Read A Lot More
I started reading a lot more when I dropped the guilt attached to returning, donating or gifting books that I just bought or borrowed yesterday, last week a month ago or a few years ago.
The cost of keeping that book is SO much higher than letting it go. If it stays on the bookshelf it weighs on me. When I look at it on the bookshelf it looks like a task on my to do list, something I SHOULD HAVE DONE earlier.
By letting go of books that are weighing on me, I’ve allowed myself to curate a bookshelf that energizes me! Getting rid of books that I wasn’t looking forward to reading made me realize a pattern. A lot of times, I buy and borrow books that I feel like I SHOULD read, rather than books that I WANT to read.
Letting go of books that I’m unlikely to read or reference helped me tidy and declutter. It also transformed the way I approach buying and borrowing books.
How I Browse for Books
This month, I decided to follow my own advice and read books that are magnetic to me – books that I couldn’t resist buying or borrowing.
I ended up reading cookbooks. I didn’t cook much during my pregnancy or first few months postpartum so this was a BIG surprise to me.
I used to search for recipes online and scroll through miles of SEO-optimized gibberish before arriving at the list of ingredients. Now, I’d rather read a cookbook. I’ve realized that cookbooks spark joy for me because they are well organized, and because they have a narrative within which each recipe is a story.
Learn more about my four-week program Reading and Writing Partners here!
Talk to you soon!
Mohini S. Pollock
