Read Lovely Books
The author has spent months, maybe years, writing this story
They want me to be entertained or feel feelings or make me think about something in a
We have agreed, the author and me, that I’m on this ride, and I want to
I’m not interested in dulling that experience with a false sense of control
Letting myself enjoy the unknown wonder of a first read is maybe my favorite thing about reading
By only focusing on the page in front of me, I am in the moment, enjoying the
I let go of the control I tell myself I have in daily monotony and routine
It’s not real anyway, just like this story I’m about to read
When I’m browsing in a bookstore or online, the first thing that grabs me is the
A book needs to make me want to flip to the next page, then the next
It needs to make me want to go home right then and start reading
If the first page doesn’t catch me, then I don’t want it
Often, the cover copy isn’t written by the same person who wrote the book, so if
If a fellow reader I trust gushes about how much they love a book, I want to
I won’t put my hands over my ears and scream “LA LA LA” over them to
The whole point of skipping what’s written on the back cover is to keep myself present
These people are not trying to sell me anything and are genuinely excited about sharing something they
This leads me to the last reason that I don’t read the cover copy: my TBR
I have piles and piles of books on my Kindle, in my library hold list, saved in
I have read a lot of first pages and am excited about a lot of books
I know myself and how easily swayed I am to buy or check out another book when
It’s nothing personal against them or the hardworking writers who come up with truly alluring story
Reading is extremely personal for me because it keeps me out of a false sense of control
Give me a book that passes the first page test, and I promise I won’t look