How I Got Back Into Reading

There was a time when reading felt effortless.

I’d pick up a book, disappear into its pages, and before I knew it, hours had passed. Stories were a constant companion, and reading was simply part of my everyday life.

Then, somewhere along the way, life got busy.

Work, responsibilities, endless notifications, streaming services, social media, and a thousand other distractions slowly pushed reading further and further down my list of priorities. I still loved books. I still bought books. I still told myself I wanted to read more.

But wanting to read and actually reading are two very different things.

For a long time, I felt frustrated with myself. Every year I would promise that this would be the year I got back into reading regularly. I’d create ambitious reading goals and make long lists of books I wanted to tackle.

And every year, I would fall behind.

Eventually, I realized the problem wasn’t that I had stopped loving books.

The problem was that I had turned reading into a task.

I was treating it like another item on a to-do list instead of something I genuinely enjoyed.

So I decided to approach things differently.

Rather than forcing myself to read the newest bestseller or the most challenging book on my shelf, I picked up something familiar. A story I already knew and loved. A book that felt comfortable.

That small change made a huge difference.

There was no pressure to remember every detail. No anxiety about keeping up. No feeling that I needed to read a certain number of pages each day.

I was simply enjoying the experience of reading again.

Once that habit started to return, I found myself reaching for books more often. A few pages before bed became a chapter. A chapter became an evening spent reading. Slowly, reading began to reclaim its place in my life.

That experience taught me something important:

Reading doesn’t have to be a race.

You don’t need to read a hundred books a year. You don’t need to follow every trend. You don’t need to feel guilty for setting a book aside or taking your time.

You simply need to find joy in the process again.

That philosophy is part of the reason Lantern & Ink! exists.

I wanted to create the kind of reading community I wish I had when I was trying to rebuild my own reading habit. A place where readers can move at their own pace, share their thoughts, discover new stories, and remember why they fell in love with reading in the first place.

That’s also why you’ll often hear me say:

Read what you can, when you can.

It’s a simple reminder that reading should fit into your life, not compete with it.

Whether you’re a lifelong reader, someone returning to books after years away, or simply looking for a gentle nudge to pick up your next story, you’re welcome here.

We’re all on the journey together.

And sometimes, all it takes is turning the first page.