Take the Book

Hey friends,

I interrupt this liminal week between Christmas and New Year’s to suggest not a resolution (those never work for me – maybe they do for you!) but a ritual, or habit.

Take the book. That’s it. Wherever you go, take a book with you. If you want to read more, be like the little me who always had a book in the back seat of my parents’ car, more books than I need on vacation and stacks of books strategically placed around the house, where I might pick one up at any moment and throw it into my bag for the day.

For a while, I stopped Taking the Book. I always had my phone with me, and could check in on the news or social media, or whatever, as I waited in a line, or had a 20-minute window between work and picking a kid up from something. Then I realized these somewhat stolen moments of reading I was giving up were adding up. I was not reading as much because I was scrolling more.

You can Take the Book of course in hardback, paperback, e-book or audiobook. Just make sure it’s downloaded or by the door, in your backpack or purse. You’ll always be ready to read, even when you least expect it.

Happy 2026 to all! And what's in your bag? I've got "Buckeye" by Patrick Ryan.

–   Shannon