Falling In Love with Reading (Again)
Continuing my series of blogs inspired by my self-care blog post (be sure to check that one out!), I decided I wanted to share even further one of my favorite forms of self-care:
When I was younger, I was most definitely a classified nerd. I always had a book with me and I was always looking for my next opportunity to read a few pages. Honestly, I guess not much has changed. However, there was a stretch where I was hardly reading more than a few books a year, which might sound like a lot if you don’t read much, but for me, that was nothing.
We often find ourselves so busy that reading a book sounds nearly impossible. Trust me, I get that. For most of my high school and early college years I barely read anything other than what was assigned to me. However, it’s not like I ever stopped loving to read. I just didn’t prioritize it in my life anymore. When I realized this, I wasn’t thrilled. So in 2019, I decided to prioritize reading again.
For me, I use Goodreads to track my reading habits, so as my New Year’s Resolution, I set a goal on the app to read 25 books in 2019. I figured roughly 1 book every 2 weeks would be manageable, which for me, it absolutely was. I ended up reading way more than 25 books that year, but the most important thing I learned was that reading can fit into my schedule, and it can fit in yours, too!
When I was little, I would sometimes read a book from cover to cover in less than 48 hours. It’s important to recognize that that’s not always attainable as an adult. Honestly, it’s probably definitely not attainable when you have other things going on. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t read or that your reading habits are bad. The minute I realized that I don’t have to force myself to finish a book in three days, my attitude towards reading instantly improved.
I try to read a little bit of my book every single day. There are some days, however, where I am too bust to make time for reading and that’s perfectly okay. I read on my own terms now, which has helped me to fall in love with the process all over again. Reading can be so many things and it’s so important that we take advantage of all the incredible literary works that exist. I love reading because it can be an escape from reality. I also love that reading can challenge me intellectually to think about things I normally wouldn’t. Any and all forms of reading are valid.
If you’re looking to get out of a reading slump here are some of my favorite books in each genre:
Fiction
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett
Nonfiction
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen by Kate Fagan
Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge
Memoir
Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat The Odds and Discovered Healing, Happiness and Love by Justin & Alexis Black
Eyes to the Wind: A Memoir of Love and Death, Hope and Resistance by Ady Barkan
Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything by Aly Raisman
Science Fiction
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
The Testaments (The Handmaid’s Tale #2) by Margaret Atwood
Suspense
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Currently Streaming
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis (Netflix)
Normal People by Sally Rooney (Hulu)
Have you read any of these yet? Did you rate them 5-stars, too? Let us know in the comments!
