A Reader's Pace

I don't usually read one book at a time.

There's almost always a small pile beside me—some books open, some half-read, some simply waiting. 

Somewhere along the way, we started believing that reading only counts if a book is finished. As if the last page is proof that the experience mattered. As if anything unfinished is incomplete. But most readers know—that's rarely how it actually works.

During one of our Brewing Knowledge Sessions at EBD, during a meet-and-greet with Ratna Manucha, this very idea surfaced naturally. We spoke about how reading doesn't have to mean committing to one book at a time. Reading can be layered. It can involve many books at once, each serving a different purpose.

Many of us read multiple books at once. One for comfort. One for curiosity. One, we keep telling ourselves we'll finish soon. Some days, we reread the same few pages because they feel familiar, and almost like returning to a thought we don't want to let go of. Other days, we feel stuck in a book because we aren't in the right headspace for it. And sometimes, a completely new book catches our attention. We pick it up, read a few pages, just enough to understand its voice, and then quietly place it back, or they're meant to be carried. Nestled in your bag, against a notebook or water bottle, like a quiet companion with no demands.

Leaving books half-read isn't a failure. Neither is switching between them, nor pausing midway. Reading isn't a race, and it certainly isn't a checklist.

Reading is slow and time-consuming.

But even then—even like this—it counts.

Sneha 

- Intern at The English Book Depot