Reading Together
A Communal Reading Experience
Thursday | AugustĀ 6th, 2026
12 PMĀ - 1:15 PM ESTĀ
Hosted by Dr. Angel Acosta
We are living through a paradox.Never before have we had access to so many words, ideas, books, articles, newsletters, podcasts, and social media posts. Yet many of us find ourselves reading less deeply than we once did. Recent studies and public conversations point to a decline in sustained reading, while our attention is increasingly fragmented by the pace and design of digital life.
At Acosta Institute, we believe this matters.
Reading is not simply about acquiring information. It is one of humanity's oldest contemplative practices. To read deeply is to cultivate attention, imagination, empathy, and reflection. Reading invites us to slow down long enough to encounter another person's ideasāand, in the process, encounter ourselves.
Reading Together is our response to this cultural moment.
Rather than asking you to read alone, we invite you into a community that practices reading together. This is a space to restore our relationship with reading, engage meaningful ideas, and discover what becomes possible when thoughtful people gather around words.
What We'll Do
Each gathering explores two pieces of writing.
A Shared Reading
Each session begins with a carefully selected short reading chosen by Dr. Angel Acosta. These essays, poems, excerpts, or reflections are selected to provoke curiosity, invite contemplation, and open meaningful dialogue.
Your Reading
Participants are also invited to bring one piece of writing of their own choosing.
It might be:
- A chapter from a book
- An essay
- A poem
- An article
- A passage that has stayed with you
- Something you've been meaning to read
- A piece that has challenged or inspired your thinking
You won't be expected to present or teach it. Rather, you'll briefly introduce why you chose it, offering others a window into your own intellectual and personal journey during a breakout group.
Every gathering becomes a shared intellectual commons, where participants introduce one another to ideas, voices, and perspectives that might otherwise remain undiscovered.
Our Practice
Reading Together is about cultivating a way of being with ideas and with one another.
Together, we practice:
- Slowing down
- Reading with care
- Noticing what moves us
- Asking thoughtful questions
- Listening generously
- Thinking together
There is no expectation that everyone will interpret a text in the same way. Our different experiences, questions, and perspectives become part of the learning itself. Through dialogue, we deepen not only our understanding of the text, but our understanding of ourselves and one another.
Who Is This For?
This gathering is for people who:
- Miss reading deeply
- Find it difficult to make time for books and thoughtful writing
- Long for conversations that go beyond headlines and hot takes
- Crave an intellectually curious community
- Love ideas, stories, philosophy, and reflection
- Believe learning happens through dialogue
- Simply want to carve out time each month to slow down
What You'll Leave With
Each gathering is designed to offer more than an interesting conversation.
You'll leave with:
- A renewed relationship with reading
- Greater capacity for sustained attention
- Fresh perspectives from fellow readers
- Meaningful conversations that continue beyond the session
- New authors, essays, and books to explore
- A deeper relationship with your own thinking
- A community committed to learning together
Our First Gathering
Our inaugural session will introduce the spirit of Reading Together and invite participants into a shared practice of reading, reflection, and dialogue.
Prior to the gathering, participants will receive the short reading selected by Dr. Angel Acosta. During the session, everyone will also have the opportunity to introduce a piece of writing that has been meaningful to them or that they are eager to explore.
Whether you arrive with a poem, an essay, a chapter, or simply an open mind, you are welcome.
Join us for Reading Together: A Communal Reading Experience.
Where attention becomes practice, conversation becomes learning, and reading becomes a way of belonging.
Registration
Register here
Reserve your place for our next communal reading experience. Registration is free, and all are welcome.Ā
