I have three main intentions when reading: I read for fun, to be a better writer, and to be a better human being. Accordingly, my reading process depends on what I'm reading.

When I'm reading for fun, I just naturally go where the author brings me. However, I often read for religious and spiritual nurture and to help me think about a particular subject matter better. I also read to help me learn how to execute beautiful language better or to find quotes or phrases I could use in my own writing. When I'm reading with the last two intentions, I follow a more intentional process I delineate below.

Reminders

Before I begin reading, I remind myself of the following:

1. If I want to read to learn, I avoid reading on my phone (use your phone to collect materials not read them. Instead, I read on my computer where it is easier to perform this process. Of course, I could also read physical books (although post-reading tasks will be more challenging).
2. I save all digital copies of the material to be read (usually, a PDF or ePUB file) in my reading inbox, which is carefully curated through a process (how to manage a reading inbox and how to build and maintain a reading list).
3. I add the reference details of that material in my reference manager (use a reference manager), which is Zotero.

Reading for spiritual renewal

When reading for religious and spiritual renewal, I treat the entire reading session as a sacred practice. I do this by instituting contemplative techniques. Aside from those in my daily routine, I also apply the following:

1. I aspire for quality, not quantity. This means I may have to read lesser material, so I could spend enough time really being with it. Often, one important reading material is enough for a morning session.
2. I play an appropriate music to accompany my reading and the journaling session that follows.
3. I read the text aloud to feel it deeply.
4. I break a reading material into smaller parts, especially if it is long, to allow for pauses.
5. During pauses in my reading, I incorporate mindful movement (e.g. bowing, stretches with breath awareness, subtle swaying, mindful walking around the room or house, etc.).
6. After reading the entire material, I spend a significant amount of time writing a reflection in my journal. Usually, 1–3 pages of free writing is enough.
7. I then move on to one or more post-reading actions articulated in the reading process below. These include identifying quotes, writing literature notes, and writing prompts. I don't have to do all of them. Usually, I just go ahead with writing prompts (as this is the most important of the three) and just return to do the other actions when I return to the text later.

I end every study by reciting the following:

May any benefit from this study be for the good of all beings.

The reading process

1. I begin reading the material naturally, section by section, without skipping any parts, taking note of what surprises me or what I don't understand and highlighting these parts.^[1]
2. After reading and highlighting the material or a section of it, I identify quotes or phrases that could be useful in my writing, especially my collage-writing process. I tag each quote and add themes each addresses as a tag.
3. When I'm reading thicker nonfiction material I really want to study, I collate the highlights and write literature notes (how to write literature notes). Writing the literature notes help me identify the most important thoughts to remember from the material. When I'm reading poetry, prose poetry, or hybrid work, my literature notes are annotations or reactions to what I'm reading.
4. I then write prompts for thoughts I want to remember. These prompts are immediately added to the spaced repetition system I use on my daily retrieval practice.
5. After each section, I use the prompts I wrote to review.
6. Whenever applicable, I also write task prompts that force me to use what I learned in a useful context.

Footnotes

References

Seybold, Ethel. “Proteus.” Thoreau: The Quest and the Classics, Yale University Press, 1951, pp. 1–21.