Love Is... Reading Together
Reading is usually something we do alone. But some of my favorite afternoons are the ones spent reading next to someone — two books, one quiet room, and the comfort of knowing they're right there. Whether it's leaning on each other on the sofa, hugging from behind to read the same page, or reading aloud until one of you falls asleep, these are eight small moments of reading together, all from my books Love Is in Small Things.
The drawings here are cropped, and the full pictures live in the books. Think of the words under each drawing as pages from the couple’s diary — sometimes a memory, sometimes something they said to each other.
Reading
She wraps her arms around him from behind to read over his shoulder. Autumn leaves on the desk, the cat asleep on the sofa.
"What are you reading?" "Wanna read it together?"
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.2
Read Me
Reading aloud on a lazy night, with the cat curled up between them.
I lay down and listened to you reading. I wasn't really paying attention to the story. All I could hear was your lovely voice.
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.1
Study Time
Side by side at a long desk facing the sea at sunset. She takes notes; he turns the pages.
We studied by the window until the sea turned orange. “Are you taking notes on everything?” “Only the good parts.”
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.3
Your Book
Curled up together on the stairs, sharing one book while the cat stretches on the floor below.
I tried reading your book with you. "I don't get any of this! What are these symbols even supposed to mean?"
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.2
Your Voice
He reads on the yellow sofa while she drifts off against his shoulder. The cat keeps watch.
I fell asleep listening to your voice.
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.1
Forest View
Lying by a wide window over the forest at dusk — one still reading, one resting with a book on her chest.
We read until the sky turned pink over the forest. “Let’s stay one more night.”
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.3
Across the Table
A small table under a blooming rose tree, two mugs still warm, the cat asleep on the floor.
We sat across from each other, each lost in our own book. “Your tea’s getting cold.” “So is yours.”
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.3
The Top Shelf
Two strangers between the tall shelves of a bookshop under a glass roof, just before they meet.
I couldn’t reach the book on the top shelf. “Here, let me get that for you.” That was the first time we met.
See the full picture in my book, Love Is in Small Things Vol.3
About this blog
Many of you have seen my drawings online, but not everyone knows they come from books. Over the past twelve years, I've shared so many of them on social media, and most now sleep far down the timeline. So I'm gathering them here by theme, each with a note on which book it's from. If you'd like to see the full pictures, or many more small moments like these, you'll find them in my books, Love Is in Small Things Vol.1, Vol.2 and Vol.3.
Why is their home different in every drawing?
A room full of bookshelves one day, a room by the sea the next. D and M don’t own dozens of houses. Each drawing is a small moment from someone’s everyday life that I caught and drew, so the place changes with every story. It may well be yours.
Why are the captions written like a diary?
The idea is that these moments belong to the two of them, not to me. So think of each caption as written by one of them, the way you might write down a small moment in your diary at the end of the day.