I love to read.
I read a lot.
I'm a bookaholic.
Reading truly is a part of my life and my everyday happiness and livelihood is dependent on what I read, how often I read, and how I feel when I'm reading. However, in the past few years, I've gotten into a bad way of reading the same thing over and over again...mostly YA dystopian literature or new and upcoming fiction. In fact, as an active member of GoodReads, I checked the past 100 books I've read and about 85% were published within the past three years! Eek! I needed to diversify and have indeed done that this summer.
Reading Nonfiction
Somehow I've gotten very into reading nonfiction this summer - Bossypants by Tina Fey, The Happiness Project, and books about managing stress and American history. I'm still not a big fan of nonfiction, even with the first two more fun nonfiction texts. I find myself losing interest and focus about halfway through the book. However, I would say my reading skills are improving because I am reading something different from the norm.
Building my Profession
I have been in school since I was 5-years-old - that is a lot of time spent reading what I am told to read. While I have loved school, especially my undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees, it's nice to get to build my professional knowledge with what I want to read. This summer, I have read books about writing, multilevel modeling, teacher education, and reading theory. All of this is to build the knowledge of my profession now that I have time to read what I want. I am loving it! Moreover, without having to report to a professor or complete an assignment has allowed me to just enjoy learning what I am learning. So refreshing!
Falling in Love with the Classics Again
After reading so many new pieces of fiction, professional texts, and nonfiction, I was really craving something more profound. While many of these books are well-written, most of the books I have been reading I can whiz through. I like reading many books, but relish savoring them, too. I decided to re-immerse myself in the classics. The classics are wonderful because they are so thought-provoking, well-written, and time-consuming. They take a great deal of brain power, patience, and open-mindedness to finish reading. I decided to attack this task with a long-term goal and found this list of great classic books. I've read 16 books before starting and am really excited to add these works into my regular reading lists.
Being Open to the Book Club Recommendations
My book club, which is fairly new, also realized that we consistently read the same types of books over and over again (Divergent, Maze Runner, and Hunger Games). Our fearless leader created themes that other book clubs have used so we would choose different books each month. It worked! In July we read a true crime novel, In Cold Blood, that totally gave me nightmares and in August we are reading a foodie book.
Cooking Books
I have really gotten into cooking lately as I love food and want to eat yummy stuff! :) I love the Pioneer Woman's recipes and cookbooks but lately have been wanting food with more flavor. I have three cooking books on my to-read list that I cannot wait to dig into. Again, I want to rotate these books into my regular reading lists.
What have you been reading lately?
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