So how's your reading life going?

I've neglected this blog for so long that I almost forgot about it. Instagram has taken over, and that's where my creativity has been directed to over the last few weeks months. 

I've had a good reading year so far. Nothing over dramatic, but I stayed true to my resolution of reading for fun, not for the numbers. I chose quality over quantity. I don't know what to say about quality, but for sure I've read less than I had this time last year. I am quite pleased about that, I must admit.

I remember last year in September-October when school was the highest priority (same as this year...), my reading took a hard hit. I don't know why I was so surprised this year, especially since this is a recurring thing every fall. This year, after the initial sadness and surprise wore off, I embraced my lack of motivation. I simply didn't want to read, so I didn't. I was in a serious reading rut and nothing tempted me. The biggest surprise was that I didn't want to read fiction! That's... that's... not me! I love fiction, fiction is my jam! What does one do when she wants to read, but fiction feels like too much for her teacher-back-from-summer-break-and-teaching-in-a-pandemic brain? She reads nonfiction. Ha! That's a paradox right there, if I ever did see one!

I finished reading The Awakening towards the end of September, despite starting it on the first week of the month. It was a good book, and I enjoyed seeing a feisty woman in the late 1890s. Some quotes from the book resonated quite a bit with me, and that made the reading even more impactful. Reading this novel was due to an account I follow on Instagram which motivates me to read more classics. It's because of the girls running it that I read One Hundred Years Of Solitude, a feat* of the year, clearly! Over the month of October they selected Dracula, but I took a hard pass on that one. They chose The House of Mirth for November and I'll pick my library hold tomorrow. I'm curious and glad to try another classic.

Fittingly, the weekend before school and over the first couple of days of the new year I was accompanied by Roald Dahl's Matilda. It was such a darling read, and I remember the movie so vividly it's still tricky trying to keep the book facts straight. I am glad I finally read it, since it's a children's literature classic and my students like it.

I finished a Net Galley nonfiction, Alone Together, although towards the end I skimmed it. I got the idea of the book and I was ready to move on. I did, however, keep the nonfiction streak and since I had bought Melanie Shankle's latest book, On the Bright Side, a few weeks prior, I started that one. It was the perfect mix of serious and funny, just what I was expecting from her. She's more confortable in her writing, and that's so clearly seen. I am glad to have read all her books.

I am also keeping up with Annie F. Down's devotional 100 days to brave. I like it, and I like her style. I'm thinking of maybe reading her latest memoir after I finish the devotional. I have about twenty days left. 

Once I finished Melanie Shankle's book, I was facing a dilemma. Whatever should I pick up next?! I remembered my #ReadLesMis2020 challenge. I haven't read a single page since late August, so I decided to pick it back up. This was my reading companion for a solid two weeks, but I am delighted to report that I was all caught up a few days ahead of the deadline for finishing the fourth volume. Now I'm back to being behind, again, ha! I seem to not be able to stick to a reading plan that forces me to read every day/ a chapter a day. I think I'll catch up over the weekends, but I am most definitely not going to abandon it now that I'm so close to the end. We're on the last volume and I'll be one thrilled reader on December 30th, that's for sure!

Thursday evening something magical for every reader happened: my fiction reading funk was interrupted! I don't remember how (although it happened three-four days ago... my memory gets worse and worse, I'm getting old!), I decided to start a Net Galley book. Maybe it was me logging into the account to see if I can find a book I'd just heard about? Maybe I accidentally requested two other books? I know I received an email from a Bethany House about three Christian fiction novels, and one of them said something along the lines of read this if you enjoyed The Literary Potato Pie Society. I did indeed enjoy that novel, so I requested this historical Christian fiction. Funny thing: just a few days prior I had thought to myself that what I actually wanted to read was something light and easy and fun, and nothing dramatic because my brain wasn't prepared for that yet. Then into my inbox came this email, and one click led to another, and there I was on Thursday evening reading an epistolary novel. It came at the perfect time, not to mention I love novels told in epistolary form! I have another one from NG in the same format, but I'll wait a bit before I start reading it. I'm already past the 25% mark and I enjoy it a lot. Anca and I had a little photo shoot for it so I plan to finish it by November 3rd when it releases so I can post the review and the photo on Instagram.

Ah, how true it is that books find you at the right moment and come when you least expect it! I was and am so proud of myself for not force reading anything. I took my time (although I sped a bit!) with Les Miserable, but didn't force any fiction if I didn't feel like it. That's why I made the resolution to not read book just for a magic number, and that's also why I can't keep to a reading plan or challenge or goal. I'm a mood reader. 

Now the only problem I have with reading is the lack of more time for it. I must admit, though, that sometimes I have the time, but not the mental space for it. Most of the reading I got done over the last almost a month happened on the bus to and from school or various places I needed to get to. I am now a reader who's taken the Les Miserable, The Awakening, the Kindle with her on the bus and tram. Proud!

I hope to have a good reading month, sprinkled throughout my every growing to do list. One can hope!

 

*Reading so many classics this year, after many years of trying to fit them into my reading life failed, feels like a surprising 2020 achievement. Of course, having read so much of Les Miserable is the greatest accomplishment. I plan to make a list of all the classics I read this year at the end of December/ beginning of January. I hope my enthusiasm won't jinx my reading streak!