There are many things I want to say, many things I want to do, and I do most of them through reading. 

Through reading, I confess how I am feeling and look for advice to learn from. So if I’m reading The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, you’ll know that I’m actually a beetle.

As someone who has a hard time putting their feelings into words, books have been my speakerphone.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig really encapsulates how I felt about my life and has helped me through it.

In this book, the main protagonist, Nora Seed, ends up in a library with books that can show the infinite possibilities of what her life could have been. As Nora goes through the books, there is always something wrong even if she is essentially fixing a regret she has. In the end, she ends up leaving the library and returning back to her real life. In the end, Nora realizes that the biggest problem was her regret since it was holding her back from really living her life.

I picked up this book when I was having a hard time with myself and I wanted to read about someone who was also feeling the same way. The advice I got from this book was to accept myself like Nora did and to stop holding on to what I could have become but rather who I am right now. 

In Rita Carter’s Tedx Talk, she explains the importance of reading and then specifically talks about how reading is experiencing. When I read books, I connect emotionally to them, and I learn that I am not alone with my feelings. As I read, I learn more about myself.

When I am feeling lonely, I pick up a romance novel, and hope that one day, I can find love as true as it is in books. My favorite romance book trope is enemies to lovers, it really portrays the idea of someone loving you even after seeing your imperfections. What could be better?

When I’m facing a challenge and feel as if I can’t overcome it, I can read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls where she gains strength and independence from her unconventional childhood.

I can read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott or Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid when I am missing my family.

When I feel as if my life is boring, I can read Circe by Madeline Miller and be grateful I’m not living on an isolated island.