As an English major, the summer is certainly not the only season during which I am committed to reading. In fact, the summer is typically the time when I allow myself a break from the steady stream of reading assignments that flow in from September to May. However, this summer I dedicated myself to rediscovering my passion for reading for pleasure.Â
When I was younger, I was obsessed with reading, to the point where I was reading multiple books at a time, just for the joy it would bring me to be immersed in the plot lines. I locked myself in my room and read books out loud to myself for hours, often finishing entire novels in one sitting. If I got bored of one book, I would switch to another– I just wanted to continue reading without concern for continuity or organization. That ardor for consuming literature is what drove me to become an English major in the first place, but after one semester of English classes, the pleasure I once gleaned from reading a book began to fade.
I was so burnt out having to finish what ended up being about three books every two weeks, spending a brief amount of time unpacking each one, and then quickly moving onto the next reading. Essentially, it felt like I was reading just to make sure I could write a successful paper or pass a reading quiz. There was no more finishing a book in one sitting, instead I had to force myself to read 20 pages at a time, itching to take my next break rather than find out what would happen next.Â
At the end of the last school year, I was so sad that I no longer gained as much satisfaction from reading that I decided I was going to get back into the type of reading that used to cause me to dedicate the better part of a day to books. Over the course of the summer, I read 13 books, and I did so free of any timelines or exact goals. It was nice to take the pressure that came along with the school year off of reading, and just pick up the book when I felt excited about it. I fell back into the habit of becoming so engaged in the world of the novel that I would easily spend hours at a time reading. I finished most of my books within two days– about a quarter of the time it would take me during the school year.Â
Overall, I would say that my summer of reading taught me that my passion for literature still exists, I just have to allow myself to consume it in a way that requires no deadlines and has no strings attached (i.e. no essays or quizzes). Moving forward, I will embrace the ebb and flow of my reading habits, understanding that it’s normal for academic demands to temporarily overshadow the pleasure I once found in books. As long as I remember to return to reading for myself when I can, my passion for literature will remain a constant in my life.