‘What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree (…). But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. (…) Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.’ — Carl Sagan, Cosmos, Part 11: The Persistence of Memory
Reading has always been one of my passions.
I am a voracious reader and I enjoy time reading on my own. Books have always been special items to me since I can recall1. They are treasures, companions. An intimate way to navigate different worlds and stories and to connect with brilliant and creative minds.
The way I read has been evolving over time as I have gained more experience as a reader. I have also adapted it to my rituals and schedules. I currently read every day, sometimes in the morning, always at night. For hours during the weekends. For days during the holidays.
I always read with a pencil2 in hand (Pentel, 0.7 or 0.9 mm, 2B lead) to highlight quotes and jot down ideas. I fold the corner of the pages I’d like to keep revisiting.
I am a big re-reader. And not only do I reread my favourite books from time to time (The Little Prince at least once a year), but I also reread entire chapters whilst reading a book for the first time. When I read non-fiction, I don’t read in a linear way, instead, I go forward and then back again. Or jump some chapters. I read at different speeds: quickly to have an overview of the book and slowly to savour the best chapters.
Sometimes I read with my partner. We read aloud to each other, one chapter each, mostly Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries. And we perform them (accents and all), and discuss and try solving the puzzles together.
Reading is a very personal practice. It’s worked magic.
📚 The Reading List
Re-read Atmospheres by Peter Zumthor (the Spanish edition).
Read a short story, Graffiti by Julio Cortázar. I do recommend reading Cortázar’s short stories. Curious about how it translates to English, but if you can, read it in its original Spanish. A great pleasure.
Read El Peligro de estar cuerda by Rosa Montero. This one is on creativity and madness.
Read A Bigger Message. Conversations with David Hockney by Martin Gayford. Another must on Hockney.
Reading I Paint What I Want to See by Philip Guston.
Still reading The Mirror and the Palette by Jennifer Higgie.
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Happy sketching!
Ana
What are you currently reading? What do you recommend? It would be great to hear about it! Please, leave a comment and share your thoughts :)
Some good memories of weekends in my bedroom reading Harry Potter books when I was 11 come to my mind.
Never with pen, ink, or highlighters. Always pencil that can be erased and leaves a softer scar.
Hi Ana, thanks for this post. This is particularly pertinent to me right now as I have just finished reading my first work of fiction since what feels like forever! I loved reading until I had my daughter, 17 years ago. Since then my reading has been more sporadic and has leant towards non-fiction. Last Friday I arrived at the train station to head off for a weekend and realised I had no reading material, so I dashed into the station shop and perused the best-sellers - not usually my comfort zone! I ended up with the latest Sally Rooney. I poo-pooed it in the early pages to my travel companion, then I got into it and ate my words. I finished it during the week and am still mulling it over and have since read a little about Rooney. Overall I enjoyed it and it's definitely a page turner. Maybe I'll have to visit the best-sellers shelves more often! Thank you for your recommendations. I'd like to try the Hockney book and will look into the others. Other than that, I have an art book on the go (think I mentioned it before) and also a book by Billy Bragg about Skiffle music - Roots, Radicals and Rockers :-)