Reading Etiquettes for Dummies

Picture Courtesy: Meghna Middha

I am not going to tell you all that phony, superficial, pseudo-passionate, wannabe stuff like, hug your read at night, keep it under your pillow and sleep or orgasm over the smell of the old books. That is no romance. That is no making love to the book. NO!

I am not going to ask you to avoid picking up a sex story that’s hiding itself under the veil of campus fiction written by an engineer still in his 20s because well, I am not judging.

And I am certainly not going to establish a hierarchy in hardback/paperback, ebook, kindle edition as the medium of read is a matter of choice.

What I am going to tell you is the correct way to read!

Choose your read

Literature is an umbrella term. From poetry to fiction to prose, there are various genres that can overwhelm you, but don’t you worry!

Here is an idea- choose one genre and then choose the category in it. For instance, you can start with fiction and go for novels written by American writers, English writers, and so on.
Don’t like what you read? Not to worry. Other genres of poetry, prose and drama are at your disposal. Your read is yours alone- no one’s judging.
You can also ask your reader friends to recommend you some good books.
Just don’t let anxiety overtake the better of you, making you believe that you know nothing, and so, it would be better to just let everything go and switch on to watching another web series.

How to begin?

Just begin. Stop procrastinating. Stop being afraid. And stop scrolling your Facebook/Instagram feed for 5 kms. Switch that mobile data off and begin.

Focus

Don’t listen to music while reading. Reading is no Mathematics. You gotta read with a single mind as the book demands your undivided attention. It is then only that the story with all its elements will start to concretize in your mind.

Set targets

You can never finish a book if you don't set targets. Promise yourself to read at least 4 chapters in one sitting. Targets can also be set up with completing a certain number of pages. I personally set my target to reading 100 pages in a single sitting.

Buy a bookmark

You don't abuse books. You don't touch them with dirty hands. You limit the painter in you to office tables and notebooks. You don't fold the edges of the various pages in your read, but you buy a bookmark. A bookmark keeps you on the track, and makes you want to read further. I set my targets by keeping the bookmark on the last page of the last chapter that I would be reading in a particular sitting.

Read one book at a time

At times, you might feel the itch to switch on to another interesting book that you have got your hands on but behold- do not try that unless you have become a pro at reading or the book that you have been reading is playing too much with your mind.

Make it a priority

If you have begun reading a book, make sure that you finish it. Be curious about it. A good book will keep your mind engaged.

Don’t keep your book to the second pedestal. Don’t just skim through it. Don’t try to finish your read asap only to brag about it on Social Media. Absorb from what you read. Let the words, the plastic images that you have made in your mind overtake you. It’s only then that you will gain pleasure out of your read.

OMG Fat reads!

Let me get this right- there is higher art and there is lower art, and then there is trash. You should not choose a book on the basis of its cover or the number of pages, but the content. The thick ones might take a lot of time but if they’re worth your time, then don’t be afraid.

Don’t like it, don’t do it

If you don’t like reading, don’t read. Don’t read just for the sake of it. Don’t read to show off. Be true to yourself. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea. Simple.

Read what you like and not what others are reading

I read somewhere, "If you are going to read what everybody else is reading, you are going to think what everybody else is thinking." Enough said!

To sum it up, keep calm and don't let those snobs make you feel small. Literature is a vast ocean and one can never read enough. But you can always try to explore this ocean as much as you can. So, go ahead, and begin. 

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