When I was a child, my parents often scratched their heads at how quickly I was reading my library books. 

“But did you catch everything that happened?” 

“Yes,” I would say defensively as I pulled another book from the pile to read.

The truth is, I was reading way too fast. And in fact, I wasn’t picking up on everything that happened. 

I don’t know when or how I picked up this habit, but when I read, I tend to look at an entire paragraph to absorb the general meaning rather than read every word. This “speed reading” approach worked great in school and gets me what I need when I read the news, but it doesn’t serve me if I want to immerse myself in a story.

So I’m trying to intentionally slow down. Take it all in, one beautifully crafted sentence at a time. Read each word. Enjoy the journey.

In part, that’s why I started this blog. Let’s dive into the rituals.

1. How I Track What I Read

I’m trying to develop the habit of taking notes as I read. I don’t have a degree in English literature, an MFA, or experience in literary criticism. But here’s what’s been working for me as I try to engage more with the books I’m reading. 

I created a journal and book review template in the Day One app to act as my own customized book tracker. I love this set up because I can keep private notes about the book, see my reading history in a calendar format (with book covers!), tag my entries to find them easily later, and edit my reviews right there on my phone. 

As I read, I try to note a few things:

• Themes that emerge or repeat
• Character development and characteristics
• The pace and plot development
• The vividness of the setting
• Compelling quotes
• Connections to other books by the author, or in a similar time period or setting
• How immersed I feel in the story
• My emotional reaction to the book

Where to Begin?

If I’ve finished a book and am not yet sure how to think about it, the book club discussion guides published in the book or online usually offer some thought-provoking questions to get me started.

I like to dive into articles and reviews right after finishing a book, while the experience is still fresh in my mind. It’s interesting to see if I had a similar interpretation as other readers, if I caught on to what the author intended, or if I missed something germane to the story. 

2. Book Reviews

Reviews are my favorite starting point to engage with a book. While I’m reading, if I’m not loving the book, I might peek at a few Goodreads reviews or Reddit discussions to see if other readers had similar reactions. Comparing my experience with that of readers who loved it is helpful to get a different perspective. 

After finishing a book, I like to read professional reviews from various media outlets, reader reviews, and blog reviews. Professional reviews are insightful because they often include cultural criticism and commentary that I wouldn’t be able to come up with on my own. But I love reader reviews because they are more raw and emotional.

All these reviews are easy to find by clicking the Reviews button in Google when you search for a book title, as seen below.

3. BookTok

TikTok is a great place to go for quick, raw reactions to books. I don’t spend a lot of time here, mainly because I don’t want to fall down a TikTok rabbit hole when I could be reading, but I enjoy seeing the creators’ emotional reaction to the books they’re reviewing and their cute bookish backgrounds in the videos.

4. The Author’s Perspective

What better way to understand a book than to hear the author discuss it? I love articles and podcasts with author interviews, especially when they go past the book into other aspects of the author’s life and catalog. Going to an author reading at a bookstore or library is a perfect way to connect to the author and maybe even get an autograph! 

5. Field Trips

Depending on the book and where you live, there might be an interesting field trip opportunity. For example, after reading a book about ancient artifacts like Fiona Davis’s compelling dual timeline novel The Stolen Queen, a visit to the Egyptian wing at a museum takes on new meaning. 

I was on vacation with my family in New York when my book club was reading The Personal Librarian, a fictionalized account of JP Morgan’s librarian Belle da Costa Greene by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. I jumped at the opportunity to visit the Morgan Library in person and see Belle’s desk and documents. 

6. Food & Drink

Food and drink feature heavily in many books, and some authors, like Kate Quinn in The Briar Club, even offer recipes to readers. I don’t personally love spending time in the kitchen, but I definitely wanted to bake sourdough bread after reading Robin Sloane’s novel Sourdough about a magical starter. 

One of my friends loves to pair cocktails with the books we’re reading for our book club. She uses the book’s themes, setting, and characters to inspire her drink selections, which always spark some fun conversation during our book club meetings. We write about these pairings on our blog Hardcovers & Highballs.

7. Music

Some authors are starting to publish playlists along with their books or even commissioning original songs to accompany the book, like Jennifer Weiner did for her new novel The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits. (Here’s my post about it, including a link to the song). The songs evoke pivotal scenes and moods in the story and help you connect to the writer’s creative process. This Book Riot article is a great starting place to discover books with playlists.

Bottom Line

Do you have to do all this with every book you read? Absolutely not! I sure don’t. Often it’s enough to just read a book for the pleasure of it. But when I connect deeply with a book, immersing myself in related content and experiences helps me hold on to the joy of reading just a little bit longer. (Like I did with Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy – read my post here).

How do you engage with books that you love?