I’m Claris Lam (she/her) and I’m from Waterloo, Canada. I write fiction and poetry to inspire others with perseverance, creativity, and hope to create their own happy endings. When I’m not writing, I’m probably You can find me on IG at @clarislamauthor, as well as on Facebook and Bluesky! I’ve got a kids’ fantasy chapter book called Sadie Rowe And The Missing Necklace that was published back in Feb. 2026! You can check it out here. Also, I’ll be publishing a YA fantasy short story collection in May 2026 called Found! Learn more about me and my books at my website.
1. Why do you read?
I read because it’s a great way to both educate myself about others’ perspectives and to inspire myself creatively with a good story. I also read to help escape from the world, especially when times get tough, because those stories help give me the courage to continue moving forward no matter how difficult the journey could be.
2. What’s your reading routine?
I often read in the evenings before going to sleep. However, I sometimes sneak in brief reading sessions during the day if I have enough spare time in-between my usual daily tasks and other work. Even if it’s one page or a full chapter at a time, at least I’m making progress!
3. How do you think reading builds empathy?
Reading builds empathy because it shows the reader different worldviews and perspectives that they might not have considered before. I think it’s important that they read the perspectives of others because it can help readers understand why people other than them think and act the way they do. They don’t have to necessarily agree with them, but I think it’s good to know why others think the way they do and act based on what they know and have learned.
4. What do you think makes reading challenging in 2026?
What makes reading challenging in 2026 is, there being so many options for what read that are available out there! There are constantly new books being published. Social media communities like BookTok and BookTube often recommend so many books that the sheer amount of choice can be overwhelming, especially for someone who’s trying to start or re-start a regular reading habit.
5. What do you think makes reading easy in 2026?
I’ve listed this as a challenge, but what also makes reading easy in 2026 is the sheer number of options as to how you can read your books. You can read them as the standard paperback, hardcover, and/or e-book, but you can also read them as online serials hidden behind authors’ memberships or from websites and apps, and/or listen to them in audiobook format!
Though the sheer number of options can be a drawback, it can also be a benefit because you can read books in many different ways. You can find what style of reading works best for you!
6. Do you think reading is becoming more niche or more essential?
I think that reading is becoming more essential in 2026. There is so much out there that you read online, from text on social media carousel posts and ads to written reports and other information sent to many people. It’s important to read well to learn about what you’re reading and whether this is something that works for you. If you do not take the time to read carefully and think critically about what you’re reading, you risk losing a lot of knowledge and information about what was in that text.
7. What role does reading play in your life right now?
Reading plays a role of education (on my own terms, and not based on anyone’s specific curriculum), entertainment, and/or inspiration for my own work. Sometimes a book will fit all three categories for me, which is pretty cool!
8. Do you read differently for comfort versus growth?
Yes! When I read for comfort, I’m reading at a varied pace depending on the pacing of the writing itself. When I read for growth, however (often applies to nonfiction), I will literally have a notebook and pen on hand to write down quotes from the book for my own personal reference or write down strategies noted in the book to refer to for later in case I find it useful. Fortunately, I handwrite rather quickly!
9. What would you say to someone who thinks they are not a reader?
If you think you’re not a reader, think again. Just because you’re not reading books or listening to audiobooks regularly doesn’t mean that you aren’t reading. Did you read a news article lately? Did you read a fun blog? Did you read some funny words from an entertaining Instagram carousel post or a meme lately? Did you read words in general lately? If you did, you’re a reader.
10. How does social media impact your reading habits?
Social media gives me great opportunities to discuss the books I’m reading (or have previously read) with other readers, especially when we all end up reading the same book or books in the same genre!
However, I don’t pay much attention to BookTok. BookTube is a different story since I do use Youtube regularly to follow several other authors and learn about their writing progress – and they also often give their own book recommendations too!
11. Do you prefer to read alone or discuss books with others?
I prefer reading alone to get large chunks of reading done, especially for reading nonfiction. However, I do like discussing books with others occasionally.
12. How do audiobooks, e-readers, or AI impact your reading habits?
I haven’t used AI for anything related to reading. However, I have used e-readers to read e-books (I have an older Kindle) and have listened to audiobooks through the library’s online catalogue.
I don’t listen to audiobooks often. However, I do use e-readers and borrow books from the library’s online catalogue to read books I couldn’t get in a physical format for whatever reason.
13. Do you read differently on a screen versus a physical book?
Honestly, no. As someone who studied Religious Studies and English Language and Literature, you learn to speed-read both physical and e-books really fast to summarize the main points of everything you’ve read. This is both a blessing and a curse because I do finish reading books quickly, but I also might not give myself as much time to enjoy them purely because I’m used to reading at a faster speed.
14. In a fast-scrolling world, what keeps you committed to finishing a book?
What keeps me committed to finishing a book is wanting to know what happens next in said book, especially if I’m reading fiction.
15. What competes most with reading for your attention?
Youtube videos! I forced myself to scale back watching Youtube videos because it’s easy to get into watching tons of those for hours in my free time and not get any reading done.
16. Do you track your reading? Why or why not?
I do track my reading online, but I don’t do this very strictly. For example, I’ll log what book I’ve read, but I won’t really write down thoughts about each book. I used to be more thorough about this back when I regularly wrote and published book reviews on my website’s blog, but I stopped doing that because I got tired of writing book reviews. However, I still do try to categorize which books I enjoyed, DNF’d, and/or would read again while logging said books.
17. Are you a one-book-at-a-time reader or a multiple-books-at-once reader?
Multiple-books-at-once, for sure! I often read at least two books at once, often one of them being nonfiction while the other is fiction or poetry.
18. Do you reread books? What makes a book worth rereading?
Yes, I do reread books! What makes them worth rereading is because I want to re-experience the story and characters that were in those books. They often give me a sense of comfort, excitement and hope when rereading them. Sometimes I also pick up small details I might have missed when reading them before.
19. If you write, has writing influenced how or what you read?
As an author and poet, I’ve read many books in the specific genres I’ve written for. This made me familiar with what’s generally expected in the books I write for so I can adhere to those guidelines – and then subvert them or play along with them as much as I’d like. I read countless murder mysteries before I started writing my Harlow Mystery book series, and then I also read many fantasy books before I started writing fantasy books.
I also noticed that writing books makes me more critical of reading fiction sometimes, though. If I see poor character development or a plot point that doesn’t make sense to me while reading, it can really annoy me sometimes!
20. If your life were a book, what genre would it be?
If my life were a book, it would be an adventure fantasy book because I think life itself can be such a big adventure. You never entirely know what to expect, and there will be difficult spots. But as long as you keep moving forwards in the path of your life, you’ll find some wonderful and amazing moments too!