In my collection of images related books in art, there are many different takes on the relationship between people and reading, but my favorite one is the mood of absorption.

That’s what I remember most about reading as a child. My utter absorption in the book–beyond sound, time, oblivious to the movement of the sun across the sky or my mother’s voice calling to dinner. It’s a much harder state for me to get into as an adult. But looking at these images, the feeling of that deep entrancement comes back to me.

Illustration by Gotay de Anderson

Illustration by Leonid Balaklav

It’s there in all kinds of setting:

Illustration by Frederick Frieseke

Illustration by Lorenzo Mattotti

Suggesting its own stories.

Illustration by Christina Tsevis

Illustration by Luisa Kelle

In all kinds of weather. (How I love that every reader in the airport is reading an actual book. Talk about…