A love letter to everyone who takes their time with books.
I’ll be honest with you.
I will never be the person who finishes three books a week. I won’t have a towering “read” pile by the end of the month, and I certainly won’t be racing through the latest releases just to keep up with the bookish internet.
I am a slow reader. Always have been, probably always will be.
And for a long time, I felt a little embarrassed about that.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped apologizing for it — and started realizing that the way I read might actually be one of the best things about my reading life.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
- Slow reading means deeper feeling
When I read slowly, I don’t just follow the plot. I sit with it. I notice the way a sentence is constructed, the weight of a single word, the quiet space between two lines of dialogue.
I feel things more deeply. I cry more. I laugh more. I underline more.
A book doesn’t just pass through me — it stays.
- You remember more of what you read
Have you ever finished a book, only to realize two weeks later you can barely remember the main character’s name?
That happens less when you read slowly. When you take your time, the story has a chance to settle into your memory — into your bones, almost. The characters become real. Their choices stay with you.
I still think about Eat, Pray, Love and The Kite Runner as if I lived those stories myself. That’s not an accident. That’s what slow, intentional reading does.
- There’s no rush — the book isn’t going anywhere
Here’s a little truth I had to remind myself of many times: the book will wait for you.
It doesn’t matter if it takes you two weeks or two months to finish something. The story doesn’t get impatient. The pages don’t disappear.
Reading is not a race. It never was.
- Slow readers ask better questions
Because I spend more time with a book, I find myself thinking about it even when I’m not reading it. On the bus. Before I fall asleep. While I’m making coffee.
Why did she make that choice? What was the author trying to say here? How does this connect to my own life?
Slow reading turns a book into a conversation — one that keeps going long after you’ve closed the last page.
- How I make the most of reading slowly
Over the years I’ve found a few things that make slow reading even more enjoyable:
📖 I never force myself to read. If I’m not in the mood, I put the book down. Reading should feel like a gift, not a chore.
✏️ I write in the margins. Little notes, questions, feelings. It makes the book feel like mine.
☕ I create a ritual. Tea, a candle, a quiet corner. Slow reading deserves a slow atmosphere.
💬 I talk about what I’m reading. Even just to myself, or here on the blog. Processing out loud helps me understand what I truly feel.
🌿 I give myself permission to reread a page. If something moved me, I go back. There’s no rule that says you can only read a sentence once.
A final thought
If you’re a slow reader who sometimes feels left behind by the reading community — I see you. And I want you to know something important:
The goal was never to read more books.
The goal was always to be moved by them.
And in my experience, the readers who feel the most are almost always the ones who take their time.
So go slowly. Feel everything. And never apologize for the pace at which your heart reads.
With love,
Auréa 🌿
Books That Find You
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