Intentional Reading
Intro - what is intentional reading?
Intentional is synonym to deliberate. If I apply this to reading, it means that I choose to read deliberately.
But what does that mean to read intentionally in practice? I find that this is terminology that you can make what you want of it. I like to associate intentional reading with two main areas: (i) being critical with my reading choices and (ii) being in the moment while reading.
Being critical with my reading choices
As a mood reader, it is easy to start many different books, more or less at the same time, based on what I feel like doing; as a fantasy reader reading one book means starting a series. And if I do not keep my eyes on the ball, I will inevitably fall behind with series I pick up!
Being in the moment
Sometimes reading feels as going through the motions, not being able to focus on what you are actually reading. Or not fully taking in what I am currently reading.
Who is this post for?
First and foremost, please note that this post caters to fiction readers. So if you are non-fiction reader, this post might not give you much.
I also wanted to make sure I do not derail anyone who is happy with what they are currently doing and how they are approaching reading.
This post aims at the curious (who are happy with their current approach and are curious to see different takes, tips and suggestions), the unhappy (who are not happy with either their choices of books and/or their execution of their reading goals) and the strugglers (who struggle to focus on series or genres).
I hope you will find value in this post, at least as a framework to think about this topic. This is also a post that does not want to be the absolute truth; the goal of this post is to provide anyone interested with ideas and inspiration to look at things differently. I find a lot of value in listening and/or reading other people’s approach to reading and often times I find mindset, tips and tricks I can use, even if not as originally described to me.
My goal of intention reading
In 2025 I promised myself that I was going to read more intentionally. While this feels I am choosing a clear path, I find myself wondering what intentional reading actually means to me. Even using the two areas above, it does not help me in practice.
If I want to take a different perspective, I can say that the strategy is to be intentional. So how do I execute a plan of that nature? And this is half of the fun! So I have been wondering what helps me with the two main areas of focus.
Being critical with my reading choices
In relation to being critical with my reading choices and neutralize the sometimes overpowering moodiness in the selection process, I focus on a few concrete actions.
Reading goals: they matter, they set the overall strategy for the year. And, as I recently reminded myself, strategy is great; yet without execution is does not mean much. So I need to keep the goals in mind, while creating a list of books to read.
Spending time researching the books that I think I will enjoy the most: this is a tip that changes depending on where you are in your reading journey. The question I ask myself is: do I know who I am as a reader today? Or am I still exploring? This question is so important to me that I pose the question to myself regularly. What you liked in your 20s might not be the same you enjoy in your 40s. Taste changes, from genres, to authors, writing styles, and much more. Remember none of our journeys are linear; sometimes we need to take a step back to make one hundred forward. Recognizing which phase you are in helps to determine goals for the year and then the plan of action for the same year!
if I know who I am as a reader at this moment in time, I will spend time researching the books that I want to read; I will have fellow readers (on any social media platform you use to find your books), BookTubers, any other source that helps me identify a preliminary list of books to consider; I would then usually spend some time looking at the blurb and potentially other readers’ star ratings. I usually feel pretty good about the selection at that point; the process is not without challenges but it helps identify books I am interested in faster.
if I am still exploring, I will cater to it, making sure that I get exposure to all the genres, authors, experiences that I want or that I think that I want.
A combination of both: it is possible that I am well versed reader in a genre and want to learn more about a different genre. So my approach will be both, continuing experiencing what I like and venturing in uncharted territory for others!
Reading lists, helpful whether you know who you are and if you are still exploring: I am using plural deliberately here. I want to make sure that I have at least two reading lists. One is a master list of all the series and books that I hope to read at some point in my life. As you can imagine, this is a huge list. To be read lists are infinite for good reasons. Yet, having a long list like this does not help with focusing on the goals. So I develop a second list, a list of books I am hoping to get to in the specific year of reading.
This list also helps me with the mood reader in me; it helps me to limit my choices and actually make progress towards the goals I have for the year while catering to the whims of the mood reader in me. And when I feel that the list does not reflect me any longer, then I take another step, which is to look back at the goals for the year and make sure I refocus on it. Sometimes this entails a review of the list of books for the year. Sometimes, I will confirm the list still reflects what I want to accomplish!
An additional tool to consider: DNF or putting books on hold or pause if you are not vibing with them. Reading is a mentally complex experience and there is a common saying: too many things to do, too little time. Value your own time; if a book does not vibe with you, put it aside and focus on another book, author, genre that works for you! I find myself going back to books I put on hold often, at a different time and that offers a change that enables the reading experience!
Being in the moment
I want to make sure that I am focusing on reading. I want to make sure I am getting the most out of the experience.
Taking notes while reading: this is a general statement that identifies putting (virtual) pen to paper to keep track of my reads. This could take a million different versions: some use digital tools (whether GoodNotes or Apple Notes or any other note taking app); others use the more traditional approach of pen and paper. My journey went through the digital approach and landed to pen and paper. It just works best for me to retain information. So what forms does this process take? So many different ways and this is an incomplete list:
Reading journal: this actually means different things to different people. Some consider this to be a pretty spread with the review of each book they read; others use it to jot down thoughts and ideas while they are reading the book. I subscribe to the second method: my reading journals are messy and they contain a lot of information about the book that I am reading, including my thoughts and feelings at any point in time. I love using it to get a better understanding of world building, characters and plot. And then I also use this to reflect on the reads; often times, I reflect on books on a daily basis. Sometimes I need longer to jot down a reflection. I like to keep track of tropes and themes; I like to understand the message of the book. This is also a reflection of the fact that I struggle to actually annotate on the physical books; and I read often on ebooks. So a physical reading journal is the perfect place for me to take these actions.
Sticky notes: this is another great alternative, especially if you don’t want to write directly in the book. I use this sometimes, especially if I don’t have my reading journal with me. I also use this trick when I am traveling. I might want to limit the number of notebooks I am taking with me so I will take sticky notes and keep my thoughts there. The coolest thing about sticky notes is that you can take them as they are and put them in reading journals (or books!) as easily as anything else.
Annotations: if you are brave enough (and I am not most of the time), this might be one of the best things to do. This helps with reading comprehension and it is faster than having a reading journal or sticky notes where you need to add more information to contextualize the thought. The only time that I was brave enough to annotate is when I know that other family members of friends will read the same copy I am. I accidentally found an annotated book by a family member and it felt like reading with them. I loved everything about it and, if I have versions of books that I want to share with friends or family members, I will annotate.
A perfect combination of sticky notes and annotation is to get transparent sticky note and keep the notes on top of the specific area you want to comment/annotate!
Highlighting: this works both on ebooks and physical books. On ebooks, I am mostly exposed to the kindle app (yes, I do not have the e-reader, I use my iPad for that) and this offers only four highlight colors. And I have assigned one topic per color: pink is for characters (names, descriptions, development), blue is for plot, yellow is for quotes I like to remember and orange is for wold building.
This is to exemplify how I use highlighting, something I have been using at school too; I help visually to know what subject I am dealing with. Do I wish I could have more colors in kindle? Absolutely yes. Do I manage? Yes, it is more than doable.
Slow reading: this is another topic that will mean different things to different people. For me, it’s about embracing the journey I am in and take my time to understand and digest. If this requires me taking longer, I will take longer. And this is my priority compared to other reading goals for the year (namely, to read a certain number of books per year). In order to make the progress that I want to, I often will have to prioritize reading to any other entertainment form, such as watching shows. What I like the most of this process is that I focus on the activities I care about. Is it perfect? No, and it will never be perfect. Does it give me satisfaction? Yes it does, and it is important for me to continue in this journey. In other words, find what makes you happy (for instance, I deliberately refer to satisfied as this is foundational for my happiness) and go for it also when it comes to hobbies and entertainment.
Challenges to consider
I like using the terminology risk mitigation; I prefer knowing what can derail my carefully laid plans. I want to protect my space at all costs now and I have identified a few different scenarios that might put my plans in jeopardy.
Buddy reads: I loved participating in them; yet, every time there was a book that I had an even remote interest in, I would drop everything and focus on that read. This would distract me from my book choices and while I love buddy reads, I find myself avoiding them at this moment of my reading journey mostly because I want to tackle the books that I am interested in. Very selfish, true yet it is what I feel I need to do.
ARCs: if you sign up for advanced reader copies (ARC as abbreviation), you might need to pivot your reading based on those. I have stopped requesting them: while I love the idea, I find myself mostly distracted by ARCs. There are a few reasons for it, mostly associated with me and not being interesting enough (to publishers) to give me access to the books I actually want to read and then I find myself trying to get satisfaction on books that I did not care that much for. And so, to avoid doing a disservice for both me and the author, I am not currently requesting ARCs. My strong recommendation for this is to focus only and exclusively on the ARCs you really care about and if you do not receive access to them, spend time with books you actually want to read.
Release date hype: this might be real or perceived, especially around publication dates. My strong suggestion is know in advance which books you want to read at publication. Try to avoid being swayed by others (IRL or virtual) to join the hype bus. It is difficult; yet, if you want to focus on intentional reading, make sure the choice to read a book is yours and not a social media requirement.
Social media: while social media made my reading experience so much better, it also has pitfalls. It is important, to me, to make choose books I want to read. Even if a book is praised everywhere in your feed (and please beware that once you start looking for one book, the feed will inevitably share more posts about that specific book with you; it is how algorithms work!), it does not mean you need to read them. If a book keeps popping up on your feed, my strongest advice is to do independent research on the book and make sure that, if you choose to read the book, this is not done because “social media told me to”. Intentional reading is about choosing what to do and when to do it; when there are external factors that determine how you spend your time, you are losing that control and, reminding yourself of living or reading intentionally, should help you regain control. At least it does with me!
Outro
These are the suggestions and recommendations I developed for myself to be more in the now and carefully choose books (and entertainment in general) that I want to tackle.
I hope you will find value in them; yet, if you think there is something missing and/or something that you find a lot of value in it, please feel free to share it with the community! The more we share, the better everyone will be!
