Reading

When I went to grad school I read many books. I must have read thousands of pages for my classes. Now that I'm a graduate, I get to read for pure enjoyment. A year ago when LP was born I used to read baby related things while I was pumping. The easiest thing to do was to pop on a DVD and watch it while I was nursing, bottle feeding or just letting the baby sleep but lately I decided to take on reading more seriously. 

There are many good books out there. I always read with a purpose, so picking up non-fiction was very challenging for me. I still have this sense that books were mountains to be conquered. The more pages, the greater sense of accomplishment. Crazy but that's how my mind functions at times. How I decided on Breena Clarke's Stand the Storm? It was one of the staff picks at our public library. I never heard of the author but the story seemed pretty good. The whole staff must have picked African-American authors last month because another pick was Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza. I think I've had both of these books for 3 weeks and I've read Stand the Storm way more than Left to Tell. Maybe I was too ambitious... The one book I did finish last month was The Go-Giver by Burg and Mann. My husband got it as a gift and I pretty much devoured it in 2 days (the book is thin but powerful). Let's say it challenged me to rethink the way I have been conducting my life and the way I do business transactions. 

I try not to buy so many books that we get overwhelmed at home. I am often giving away books or donating them to be sure we have as many as our shelves will hold. I like to get books in the public library because of the same reason: I can enjoy it and return it to a place where they have plenty storage. These three books are a huge change of pace in my normal reading. I often read Christian books that deal with whatever I'm going through at the moment. I have devoured books on pursuing peace, books about having a successful Christian marriage and other things such as how to honor people. Fiction is new, it's really a vacation for my mind.

Are you a reader? Did you have time to read when your kids were little? What kind of books are you reading now? I can't wait to hear from you my friend.