getting into (and staying with) a big book

8 tips for reading big, daunting, and sometimes downright *boring* books

Hello, dear reader.

Whether you’re reading Middlemarch with me this summer or not, I have some tips to share with you today.

As we’re about to embark on the longest book we’ve ever read together, I do feel it is prime time to give you tried-and-true tips for tackling big, old books. (I gave a handful of tactical advice in the announcement post. Today’s advice is decidedly more philosophical in nature.)

Come back to this advice (as it is helpful to you…) as we get into George Eliot’s tome. Or even as you tackle your own personal summer reading list.

a study day vignette from grad school days

The most overarching piece of advice I have for you is this:

Give yourself a big spoonful of grace every time you find yourself getting bored, mind wandering, or wanting to do anything but pick up the book to read.

(Who else gets a lot of laundry done when they’re supposed to be reading?)

I beg you, in these moments where your devotion to your task wavers, not to start believing the easy, unkind and untrue things about yourself, like “I must not be smart enough for this,” or “I’ll never be the kind of reader I want to be if I can’t finish this stupid book,” or even the dreaded blanket statement, “I’m a failure.”

OMG, those are lies!

They are also completely natural feelings you very well may have about reading a big, old book. I, in fact, share many of them even though I did this professionally for like a decade.

My promise to you is this: There are ways through these feelings that can bring you back to the reading challenge you’ve set for yourself.

So: here are my actual tips for reading a big, old, and sometimes boring novel, and sticking with it even when the desire to throw it across the room looms large.

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Take a stance of curiosity.

Reading a big book comes with big feelings for some of us — it can feel intimidating and scary. As you embark on a big book, I invite you to get curious about why the idea of reading it is bringing up feelings for you.

• Are you nervous because you don’t know what to expect?

• Do you have some preconceived notion that you need to understand the history or author biography or have a degree in Victorian Literature to deserve to read certain authors?

• Do you not trust yourself to be able to read a big old book? Why not?

• Is your summer really busy and you’re not sure you’ll have time?

Figure out what’s at the core of those feelings of “I can’t do this,” and instead of taking them for the horrifying truth, take them instead with a stance of curiosity. The feeling is truly being experienced, yes. But that doesn’t mean the feeling is telling you the truth about yourself.

Ask yourself why you feel some type of way about reading a big book or a classic book or a dense book, and see if you can find the difference between how it’s making you feel and the actual reading goal you have.

Make a personal bookmark.

If the above exercise is workin’ for ya, try taking it a step deeper with a short free write exercise. Answer the questions above, or take your own angle on the prompts above, and see what you uncover.

Then, as yourself: Why do I want to read this book?

Make a big list for yourself. All your reasons are valid — from simply wanting to, to preparing for grad school, to giving yourself a summer project, to learning something new, or because your best friend said they won’t hang out with you again until you’ve read this book because it totally changed their life.

Whatever your reasons, uncover them.

Then, write down the top 3 most meaningful ones—the truest or the most sweet to you or the best motivators—on an index card and make it your bookmark.

Have some fun with your materials.

This is such a real one for me: when I’m excited to use new sticky tabs or clear post-it notes or a new Japanese highlighter from the stationery store, I’m more motivated to sit down and closely read! As any Cover Girl knows, the little accessories make all the difference. (yes, that’s a teeny tiny Legally Blonde reference, blink twice if you caught it.)

So have some fun with the materials you bring to the experience. This could include:

• Making a bookmark for yourself (like the step above)

• Collecting cool ribbons and charms to lay in your favorite pages

• Picking a vibrant, fun color for your small ruler

• Using washi tape to create tabs for each assigned section (I talk more about this here)

• Creating a legend of highlighter colors that you’ll use for different purposes as you read

• Going to the local art store and trying all the pens to find the one that feels best in your hand

• Buying yourself an old-school pencil sharpener to mount on your living room wall

I’m a sucker for stickers

Ritualize the experience.

I am passionate about this one—it’s the only way I made my wandering way through the multiple ginormous books I read as a master’s student in Oregon. Make the experience so lovely for yourself that you can’t help but want to sit down to read.

Make a fancy bev, like a favorite soda poured over ice or brew a big pot of tea to keep you company. Put together a cozy little charcuterie board with your favorite pickles, cheese, and peppers—or have some fun making a candy dish for yourself to snack on while you read (trail mix with peanut butter M&Ms anyone?)

Put on those ridiculously soft sweatpants. If you have long hair, brush it out of your face so you’re not irritated while reading. If you get cold, put a favorite blanket nearby.

Maybe you invite a friend to come over and share in your reading time with you each week. Maybe you feed your cats right before you start so you can read in peace.

What will make you feel cozy? Do it! Ritualize it!

Create a playlist.

I don’t like total silence while I’m reading. I love a little ambiance. I learned in grad school that a not-too-busy coffee shop is a game changer for my reading productivity. Likewise: a quiet seat at the wine bar is also excellent.

When those things aren’t available or will mean I get half-as-long to read, I opt to make the ambiance at home with a playlist. This might be an ambience video on YouTube, a playlist on Apple Music or Spotify or whatever app you use for music. It may mean putting on a special record or CD in your stereo.

For me, the noise level around me can make or break a reading session. If that’s true for you, be mindful of how you can create the right setting for yourself.

It’s twinkle lights or nothing for my reading vibes

Break it up during the week.

I’ll give you the advice I gave my English students every single semester: You can leave the reading until the night before, but you won’t enjoy it. For the love, break it up during the week.

Don’t rush this experience, ya know? Most of the fun of taking on a long, 12-week slow and close reading of a giant book is reveling in the experience of it. And it probably won’t feel awesome to pressure yourself through it. You’ll miss out on the fun of reading closely.

We may hit strides in the novel where the pages fly by. But I’ll be frank with you: unless you’re a Victorianist or George Eliot is totally your cup of tea, these pages aren’t going to fly by. They may suck you into deep introspection; they may repel you and make your eyes cross. Eliot will take some getting used to.

So, as we get started with Middlemarch, or whatever large book you’re setting out to read, do not try to read every week’s assignment in a single sitting.

Unless that’s what you like to do. Then, you know, by all means.

Take breaks when you need breaks.

Say we get to week 4. You’re pacing along. Your reading journal is a thing of beauty. You’ve found the perfect ruler and pen combination…and then BAM! You catch a cold and all you want to do is watch reruns of Friends for ten days—so you fall behind.

That’s okay.

In fact: I hope you will not treat this like some achingly painful homework assignment you do out of duty rather than pleasure.

Take breaks from the experience when you need breaks.

The reading guides, and our community, will be here as you get back on schedule. (And even if you stay one or two weeks behind the whole time—that’s okay too!)

Take yourself out to lunch, go for a walk, get an iced tea—all excellent ways to reset and renew your reading goals

Remember you know you best.

One of the truest things I’ve learned about reading a lot is that sometimes, a book is not ready for you and you’re not reading for a book.

You know you best.

So if you hit a wall and realize that George Eliot is just not it for you right now, and that you’re too anxious or busy or going through something in your daily life that makes this experience untenable for you…

You know you best.

Put your cute homemade bookmark on page 1, and shelve this experience for another time.

This is not homework; this is not torture. This is meant to be an expansive experience—to teach you not just about big books and George Eliot, but also about your reading self. And part of that learning experience may be that you’d like to read Eliot some other time or with some other group or in a different season.

You know you best. Do what’s right for you!

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Reading big books is a trip

Big books are big. They’re heavy, they’re dense, there is a lot to track and notice and care about and think about.

That’s…kinda the point. After all, if the story would’ve worked shorter, the author probably would’ve turned it into a short story and not a 900-page bowling ball.

Remember that big books are big because the scope of the story is big. It wants to ask you big questions. It wants to show you BIG patterns. It wants to give you a big, big experience.

What a gift that is.

And with the tips above, you may be a little more ready to receive it.

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We start Middlemarch this week

So get your big book ready.

Prepare your materials.

Make a bookmark; do a free write to uncover your reasons.

Get that playlist made.

And I’ll see you tomorrow…

(If you’re setting off on a different big book this summer, I’d love to learn which tips help you the most!)

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‘Til next time, happy reading!