I joined the Goodreads' Reading Challenge in January. Unsure of how my reading habits were going to be, I decided on a modest 40 book goal. Here it is, now the end of April, and I am currently reading book number 35. Sexy Hubby {SH for short} is on book number 2. No, he isn't participating in the reading challenge. Yes, I am keeping count for him.
With longer days and summer rolling in, I don't think I'll update my goal too much. I'll just increase my reading goal as the year progresses.
What am I reading?
Everything!
Fiction, non-fiction. Memoirs, self-help. Young Adult, Children's. I am an eclectic reader.
I prolonged the reading of King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard in the hope that the wait for War Storm would not be so far off. Sadly, there are still a few weeks until that title drops. In the meantime, I have Cinder, The 4-Hour Workweek, and plenty of others to keep me company.
I'm also reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to the minions for our homeschool book club. This is my second time reading it to them, and third time reading it overall. I am not complaining. It is a beautiful story! Once SH and I get to our forever home, I fully plan on creating a wardrobe door to the entrance of our home library. Even if the kids are moved out, living their own lives, I will still have an expansive library that will appeal to all ages. I will be a grandmother, eventually {not too soon I hope}, and I want them to be as in love with reading as I am.
Between Overdrive, Kindle, and Audible, I have no need to leave the comfort of home in search of a new book to escape into. In the midst of technology and ebooks, there is still nothing quite like having a real book in hand. The smell of books, yes I am that weirdo that will smell a new book, the texture, the act of turning pages, I love it! I still buy books and check them out at our local library. There will never be a time in my life when I choose not to browse the local library or bookstores. New or used, if they are readable, they are wonderful!
I have recently started pairing my reading escapes with a bubble bath, and a glass of wine. I splurged and bought a bath pillow, tub tray, and overflow drain cover for those times. Why not? I am not a patient person, so baths were not something I could just soak in. After 5 minutes I would be bored to tears and ready to get out. That is not an escape. Adding a book, a glass of wine, and a comfortable pillow, I can sit in there for 30 minutes easy. That is the perfect amount of time for my limbs to relax and appreciate all that Epsom salts have to offer. Wine helps.
I feel it is worth mentioning how amazing audiobooks are as well. I am currently listening to The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss anytime I get into my car. Before that, I listened to Take the Stairs by Rory Vaden, and Creative Confidence by David and Tom Kelley. I enjoy listening to self-help style books in the car, especially when I know I will need to pause the book when I get where I am headed.
If I am going to listen to an engaging audiobook, I tend to do so when lying in bed at night. On those rare occasions when I just want to lie back and let my mind play the story in my head. That being said, not all audiobooks are created equal. A narrator can make or break an audiobook. An example of this was when SH wanted to read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. He attempted listening to it via audiobook and just could not get into it. A few months later he happened across a discarded copy while deployed. The staff in the area told him to take it, so he did. He loved it! Once he finished reading, he left the book at another stop he made for another person to enjoy. Later, he told me it was a great book, and I should read it {it is on my list} but that the audiobook just did not interest him. I have come across several audiobooks and felt similarly. I dislike any that have more than one narrator and/or sound effects. That is not to say I will stop listening, it is just a preference.
The convenience of ebooks makes reading simple and straightforward. For those that dislike book clutter {I am secretly judging if you are one of those people- who doesn't like book clutter?? 😉 } or taking the time to walk through a library or bookstore in search of their next great book escape, ebooks are ideal. The ability to read on my iPhone or iPad mini allows me to have a story at my fingertips at all times. If I know I will have time, I usually bring a physical book along, but that is not always the case. Idle time going through the car wash? Whip out your phone and read for a few minutes. Breezed through the errands, you planned too quickly before picking up the minions from whatever activity they are doing? Pull up your app to read or listen to a book.
Trying to increase my Vitamin D I started going to the tanning bed. For all of you anti-tanning bed friends out there, I know, I know. I did put on my SPF lotion if that makes you feel any better. Instead of listening to music, or boring myself with idle thoughts while being stuck inside a tube shooting artificial sunlight at my nakedness, I listen to a book. I will even reward myself for that vitamin treatment by sitting in a hydromassage chair for another 10 minutes, still listening to my book. Sounds terrible, I know.
I use reading or listening to a book being read, as an escape and a reward. I escape the dismal days into a story of sunshine and wonder. I reward myself with a story of perseverance and fantasy. Whether I'm stepping into the wardrobe, taking the stairs, fighting alongside the Reds, or holding hands with someone as I retrace the footsteps of their life, I can always find a way to escape the monotony and reward myself with a trip to another world.
What is your greatest escape? Do you have a book that you can read, again and again, without tiring of it?
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