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What’s your daily ritual? I have
always read a lot, but about six months
ago, I decided to make books an even
bigger part of my life. On weekdays, I
get up at 6 a.m. and an hour later on
the weekend. I shower, get dressed
and crawl under a blanket on the
couch, with a book. Usually I read for
about an hour; sometimes a little less if
I need to leave early. The nice part is
that it makes me more inclined to reach
for my book throughout the day. When
I’m on the train, I pick right back up
where I left off in the story I’m reading.
I used to always do a quick round on
social media on my smartphone first.
Getting up at the crack of
dawn—how do you do it? I had
to tough it out at first—also because I
never thought I was a morning person,
often went to bed a little too late, and
started the ritual during the darkest
season. It has now become a habit and
I tend to wake up automatically around
6 a.m.; I never would have thought I
would be able to. I had already started
engaging in morning rituals before this,
such as writing in my journal, doing
some yoga or meditating, but this
usually petered out after only a couple
of weeks. Reading is something I really
want to do. It helps that my husband
also gets up early to go for a run.
At that time of day, there are no
interruptions and no one who needs
anything from me. The silence is my
favorite part, the feeling that the rest of
the world is still sleeping. In order to
avoid having to constantly watch the
clock, and then sneaking a peak at my
phone, I set a timer. It’s always strange
to suddenly return to the living room
when the alarm goes off.What is it about reading that you
love so much? You enter a
completely different world, and are able
to see into the minds and lives of
others. You can completely forget your
daily cares for a brief moment. I like to
read Dutch and English literature, often
based on tips from colleagues or
friends. I just finished History of Wolves
by Emily Fridlund and Exit West by
Mohsin Hamid. Incidentally, reading in
the morning yields benefits the rest of
the day. To-do lists and chores seem
less daunting because I’ve already
done something nice for myself. >Marije van der Haar-Peters (41, Proofreader)
gets up early to start the day with a book.Another of Marije’s recent favorites is
‘The Essex Serpent’, by Sarah PerryInsight