TFAIPY (Time For an Actually Important Post Y'all)

Yes, I did just say y'all. Stop cringing Hannah. Haha ok, today, I will not post about nonsense, i will post about something that is one of my pet peeves: People who say they "hate reading because it is boring"! What I have to say to this is that these people don't really how to read. All you people out there, this is important, so pay attention.

There are those who read books, and there are those who marinate themselves in books. People who merely read, do so quickly and impatiently, with only one goal in mind: to get on to whatever lies beyond the immediate reading, like holding your nose, while swallowing a bite of food you rather dislike. Marinating takes a true lover of books who allows time to flow freely over them, not giving it a second though, as they soak up each of the author’s devices and revels in them like savory herbs that flavor steak.

When a true connoisseur of reading takes a look at a library shelf or bookstore window, they don’t just glance and the covers and titles seeking a specific genre alone. Picking out a book shouldn’t be like going through a drive through, then parking to hastily eat in the car and hurry off to the next destination. They see the awards, the authors, cracking one open occasionally and tasting the words; feeling them with every sense.

When it comes to reading, I try to let the book play out in front of my eyes, assailing me from all sides, locking me into place, but shifting me in each of the author’s tones. When you find yourself giving each character their own distinct voice in your mind, you know you’re there. It’s when you are moved by not only the story, but the complex patterns of the author’s style, and come to recognize the littlest phrases, like delicate seasonings. Let go of time, and eat up!

There are those who only nibble books, constantly preoccupied by the many distractions thrown at us by the world; TV, texting, Facebook, iPods. The list goes on and on. The absolute distinction between simply knowing how to read and knowing how to soak is when you make the connection between the fact that A: you’re not getting anything out of what you’re reading and B: you’re also causing the before mentioned by letting yourself see only the surface. After this distinction is made, it isn’t hard to begin to cut a little deeper into the pages and paragraphs; let the words swill around your head, taking their own sweet time.

Reading can be gateway to innumerable experiences normally out of your reach, if you only allow yourself to let the small but sharp intensities of phrases surround you.