My Current Reading List & 5 Ways To Nurture Your Reading Habit
This is not sponsored and I purchased all books myself. There are no affiliate links in this post.As curious, caring, creative souls, we love to read, research and above all share what we learn and what inspires us with others.
There is nothing more soothing to us than reading a book that makes us feel calmer, helps us to understand ourselves better, and makes us feel that we are not so alone on our healing journey.
Yet for some reason, reading is a self care practice and pleasure that can so easily be abandoned when life becomes overwhelming.
In this post I’ll be sharing my current reading list and 5 ways that you can nurture your own reading habit.
Books have always made life more bearable for me. More than that they have been a place for me to retreat to and have helped me find my way back from some very dark places and times.
One of my greatest pleasures is to read, one of my greatest passions is to learn.
I don’t recall at what age I became aware that I found so much comfort in the pages of a book, but I do remember the books and stories that nudged me in the direction of being a bibliophile.
It’s not just the act of reading that settles my soul, it’s the feeling of being totally at home in a bookstore, the pleasure I take from browsing the shelves until a new title calls out to me.
The feeling of simply knowing that I have my very own curated personal library of books that wait for me to intuitively choose my next read.
The elation of indulging in those first few pages, and knowing that the book you have chosen is going to be a wonderful travelling companion.
The pure pleasure of holding a fresh paperback in your hand and settling in to learn, be inspired or escape the world for a while.
My favourite time of day to read is at bedtime. I love how my body and nervous system are lulled to rest as my eyes move across the page and follow the rhythm of the author's words.
Yet, during darker times, instead of settling in with a book, I find myself pulled to the ‘easier’ distraction of ‘the doom scroll’, actively catching up on messages or checking in on social media. I’m very aware this merely pacifies my inner turbulence, that ultimately becomes more agitated by the blue light and in turn further disturbs my circadian rhythm and feeds my inability to switch off my busy mind at the end of the day.
I was brought up on Enid Blyton titles such as The Magic Faraway Tree, when I was older I devoured The Babysitter’s Club series and later anything by Judy Blume.
Since those earlier days of hungry reading, I have not had a preference for a particular book genre.
There has been a whole myriad of favourite books that have served me in different seasons of my life, titles such as Going To The Mountain: Life Lessons From My Grandfather, Women Who Run With The Wolves, Eleanor Oliphant, Little Fires Everywhere, The Goldfinch, and If Women Rose Rooted are just a handful of the books that have hushed my noisy inner world to quiet during chaotic times over the last few years.
Nowadays I enjoy reading books that support my healing journey, as well as inspire, uplift or transport me to another place.
Yet for all the love I have for the written word and for how much the act of reading soothes my soul it is very often one of the first of my self care tools and pleasures that I abandon.
My romance with words first hit rocky ground in the early days of motherhood, sleep deprived eyes and brains do not lend themselves to keeping a steady reading habit.
Yet, in times when I suffered more severely with anxiety just knowing I had a book to lose it within would bring me a sense of relief.
I understood later this was because anxiety serves us by letting us know when we veer from our truth, and in the pages I turned and words I read I would remember forgotten parts of myself and of what my truth was.
That is also the reason I am very mindful when I choose or buy my next book/s. I let my intuition guide me as I browse in the bookstore, online or over my personal modest, treasured library of books.
Between recent personal life events and my attention having to be prioritized in other areas of my life I regretfully paused my reading habit once again.
I didn’t allow myself to buy any new books and told myself I wouldn’t until I had started to read regularly again.
During this time I realized that even the acts of bookmarking titles, having books recommended to me by clients and friends, discovering new authors down rabbit holes online, when pinning or flipping through a magazine, are all integral parts of my reading process and bring me almost as much nourishment as reading the book itself.
Unfortunately living in the south of France, I do not get the full pleasure of wandering around a book store very often, nor a library.
I’ve had to content myself with buying in real time from the minimally stocked VO versions at my local FNAC stores (although I’m trilingual I prefer to read in English), otherwise I buy my books online or get generously given ‘hand me downs’.
Maybe one day I’ll be converted to Kindle, but for now I’m not swayed that it would quite replace the sensory experience of holding a physical book in my hands.
However, I now have a wonderful selection of a mix of paper and hardback books waiting for me to dive into them.
My current reading list
As someone who is committed to (and cyclically recommitting to) their own healing journey (what I have named as the journey of self recovery) and as a student of plant medicine I have curated my current reading list based on the pull of wanting to learn more about the power of and working with our plant allies and to feel not so alone as I navigate the path back to me.
I keep a running list of books I have read and want to read over on goodreads and every so often get the pleasure of buying a new book in a store.
I’m currently reading Bloom by Stefan Ball, as a student of Dr Bach flower remedies, I’m finding this to be a wonderful book that is teaching me more about how the remedies can be used for personal development and spiritual growth.
Stacked on my bedside table you will find this handful of beautiful books that I cannot wait to get into.
Reclaiming The Wild Soul by Mary Reynolds Thompson
The Truth About Everything by Brianna West
Of People and Plants by Maurice Mességué
Mothers, Fathers and Others by Siri Hustvedt
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Curating a personal library or reading list is one just step you can take towards nurturing your reading habit, actually reading the books is whole other story.
I’m sure so many of you are guilty of having an extensive ‘want to read list’ on goodreads too, a shelf or even shelves full of books that are still waiting to be read or a handful of titles that have taken up permanent residence on your bedside table.
Last Summer I picked an inspiring selection of books that I had intended to read in the ‘space’ of July and August, unfortunately those months were full of unforeseeable events and I do not think I read more than a handful of pages during that time, let alone an entire book.
As we head into another Summer season I am determined to read more ‘despite’, and come what may and I wanted to share :
5 WAYS THAT YOU CAN nurture YOUR reading habit.
Before I share, I want to make it clear that for me creating a reading habit is not about setting yourself to read as many books as possible, as quickly as possible. It’s not about setting yourself an unattainable, overwhelming, and ultimately unfulfilling goal, that will put you under even more pressure and take away the pleasure of reading itself.
No, no, no, I’m writing about creating a reading habit that will support your journey of self recovery and help you to create a deeper connection with and fully absorb the words you read.
For me reading is all about the experience, the pleasure of becoming totally absorbed in a book,the passion of learning and being inspired, not only by the words I read, but by the journey the author must have gone through to be able to write the words.
Again, I don’t want to teach you how to read as many books as possible, and rush through, I want to help you nurture a practice that can soothe your soul, understand and connect with what you read, so as to help you better understand and connect with yourself.
If the woman you want to become has a practiced reading habit, then you have to behave as if you are a practiced reader.
Now that I’ve hopefully reignited your own passion for reading here are 5 ways to nurture your reading habit.
P.S. my favourite tip is the last one (#5), I share one of the ways I have been deepening my own reading practice.
Let’s get to it.
#1 REMOVE DISTRACTION
Let’s be honest as curious creatives and women with full hands and hearts our lives are FULL of distractions. There is always somewhere our attention could/should be.
However, I’m talking about ‘the distraction’ that so many of us have, are trying to, or want to break up with - our phone, or more specifically, social media.
Now although I would highly encourage you to take a break if you are being pulled to do so, I will not be telling you what you should and shouldn’t do, however, if you are serious about nurturing your reading habit you must separate yourself from this distraction, by physically removing your phone from your environment where you are reading.
Now, if like me your prefer to read at bedtime and use your phone as your wake up call, why not go old school and invest in an alarm clock?
Be intentional about leaving your phone in a separate room in your home when you start your bedtime routine, this will also help you break the habit of checking it first thing in the morning.
When you learn to separate yourself from the distraction of the doom scroll your will reap the benefits of letting yourself become fully absorbed in the words you are reading and find your body soften into the lullaby of your book.
#2 prepare for success
Or rather make time to understand what a successful reading habit means to you.
I have written this blog post to help support you in creating a rewarding emotional experience from you reading practice, to purely to help you read more.
If you have been searching online for ways to nurture your reading habit and found blog posts from other writers, they have most probably told you to set yourself ‘a reading goal’.
I actually discourage you from setting a reading goal!
Instead, I want you to get very clear about why you want to nurture your reading habit.
To do this I like to create pinterest boards, then journal pages that remind me of how I want to feel. I made this board when I needed to feel restored.
Make a board or journal page that reminds you how you want to feel when you read, about your passion for learning, what you are interested in learning about, how you feel when you learn something new, the pleasure you get from being absorbed in a book and the positive effects having your attention focus on the words you read has on my nervous system.
Instead of setting reading goals, focus on how having a nurtured reading habit will change your life and make you feel, then make an intention to make reading the ‘thing’ that you would always rather be doing.
You are breaking mindless habits, like doom scrolling, just as much as you will be learning a new way of being, one in which you are a practiced reader.
During times when I am actively nurturing my reading habit I always like to carry a physical book with me. For you it might be a kindle, I would advise against reading ebooks from your phone/ipad if you find yourself pulled to constantly check your online feeds. When I find myself in a situation where I have to wait, or have a moment I will use it to read, be still or write, rather than fill it with something I would rather not be doing, like scrolling.
Selecting a handful of books from your library, as I have, can also reinforce your intention and orientate your focus towards your reading habit.
Start to understand when you enjoy reading most and where you are when you read and feel most absorbed.
#3 don’t force yourself to keep reading a book if you are not enjoying it
Oh this is a hard one if like me you feel like you have failed in some way if you don’t finish a book that you have started.
But, life is just too short to read books that we don’t feel connected to. You don’t have to finish every book that you start.
If the book you are currently reading is just not captivating your attention, and you are not living your desired emotional experience by reading it, don’t pressure yourself to finish it, nor berate yourself because you need to move on to a new book.
If maybe that it is just not the right time to read it. Place it back into your library and you may find yourself coming back to it in future months and years and find that the woman you have become is much more connected to the words.
Likewise don’t read what you think you should be reading because reading anything else would be a ‘waste of time’.
Remember you are reading for the emotional experience.
There does not have to be any other goal to reading a book other than that you felt the way you want to when you read it.
Keep going back to your journal pages and remind yourself of what was the desired outcome of becoming a practiced reader.
What was your version of success?
Do you want to feel comforted and understood by a poem?
Feel transported by fiction?
More knowledgable from reading non fiction?
Where and when do you enjoy reading most?
Do you prefer paperback, hardback, kindle?
#4 Gift Yourself the time
A practiced reader does not question if they are worthy of the time they spend reading a book.
Nor do they bury their reading habit by always finding more important things to do instead of reading.
They are mindful of where there time and energy goes.
A great way to practice gifting yourself the time to read is by becoming very aware of the time you have been giving away to things that have not been fulfilling nor soothed your soul.
When you find yourself doing something mindless remind yourself of what you would rather be doing.
That does not mean you have to fill every minute of your time, nor spend every free moment reading, just start by making sure you are nourishing yourself with the time you do have to dedicate to yourself and your healing journey.
#5 practice active reading
The books I have read in recent years have very much nourished myself as well as my journey of self recovery.
I’ve deepened my reading habit by learning how to become more of an active reader. Although I’m not sure I have learnt how, it just happened as I was pulled to more actively take part with the book when I was reading it.
When words resonate with me, I reread them, I highlight them, make a note in the page margin, turn over the corner of a page when passages feel really important to me. I’ll then transfer some of these notes into a journal or notebook for further reference. Sometimes I will even pop in a post it, but I find they often eventually end up falling out.
Actively sharing what I read with others has also really deepened my connection with what I read, either sharing the entire book or passages with those I know will appreciate the words just as much as I do.
I love to inspire others via the written word, and if I know that something I read can uplift or help someone I know feel connected or have a better understanding of themselves or something they are going through, then I will share what I’m reading or have read with them.
I’m so happy to be able to share my love of reading with you and you can keep up to date with my reading lists over on goodreads.
I hope all these tips will help you to nurture your reading habit, and I can’t WAIT to learn more about the books that you are reading in my inbox, and how you are intending to nurture YOUR own reading habit.
P.S. if you struggle to create new habits & carve out time for what soothes your soul click below to learn more about how I can support you on your journey back to you.
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