I've become a super reader (for the first time in a very long time)

One summer about thirty years ago when I was in my late twenties, I read 28 books in the span of two and a half months. I was on break from my job as a school teacher in San Francisco. I remember clearly that at the beginning of that two and a half month break, I was very sick with some sort of horrible virus. My then-partner, Marguerite, went to the local bookstore and bought me a stack of books to read while I recovered. I remember laying on our bed with the windows open, the summer breeze flowing into the room while I battled fever and body aches, reading and reading and reading. Once I became better, I continued to read until I went back to work in September.

Until recently, that is probably the most books I have read in succession during a short period of time, ever. I mean, I have always been a reader, at least in my adult post-college life. Some years I maybe only ready four books and others ten or even twelve. Since the advent of the iPhone and social media, and since I have run my own business, I have read decidedly fewer books. For years I have tried to read more, only to get bored or distracted or lose interest. If I read at all, it was mostly on airplanes and in the 20 minutes each night before I fell asleep. I listen to a lot of books while I draw or paint, and that’s great (I really enjoy audiobooks), but, to me, it’s not the same as sitting and reading.

So at the beginning of this year (two months ago now) I made a list of intentions for 2026, which you can read here. On the third line, I wrote: More Books, Less Social Media. If I’m being honest, I have made some version of that commitment to myself every year for as long as I can remember. But this year, I decided to lean fully into all of my intentions, and to this one in particular.

I was lucky that the very beginning of 2026 was ripe for cementing my reading habit. I was not working, I needed an escape (don’t we all), and it was cold and gloomy outside (the perfect time to cozy up with a book). I purchased a comfortable chair and ottoman for my office as a birthday gift to myself. I have discovered since being diagnosed with ADHD two years ago that I need to limit distractions to concentrate, and so I decided a private place to cozy up and shut the door would increase the likelihood that I’d relax into my books.

I also decided to choose books that I researched or that had come highly recommended to me as a starting place — books I had a high likelihood of enjoying and sticking to. And in the first two weeks of 2026 I read three books! The cozy chair and ottoman worked, and I have found myself sneaking reading in between projects during the work day (especially when I am working from home), at breakfast and lunch and during entire evenings. I relish in choosing which books come next, and in making trips to local bookshops to purchase them.

So far this year I have read nine books. I just finished The Correspondent today, which has so far been my favorite, though I would rate many of my choices 10/10 (see stack above for what I’ve read so far).

I had a very stressful 2025, and am working on making a lot of changes in my life to support my mental health. My HRV was very low for a long time because of my anxiety, and so I have been working also on breathwork and mindfulness meditation (those practices have also been wonderful and helpful). But do you want to know something amazing? My heart rate is the lowest when I am reading. And my HRV is creeping back up (this is good news).

I’ve been sharing the books I’ve been reading on Instagram and giving them ratings (in my IG stories, if you ever catch those). It is not lost on me that this place I’ve been sharing what I’ve been reading (Instagram) is the place I’ve spent waaaaaaay less time in the last two months because of my reading (also good for my mental health).

More books, less social media. Win/win.