Being a Lifelong Reader
Keeping my love of reading alive.
I usually have a book on me. Not nearly as much lately because I keep a notebook on me to jot down ideas, but there used to be a book in my purse. A habit I need to get back to.
I wasn’t a strong reader as a child. I got put into the “dumb kids” reading group when we were first learning how to read. I wasn’t a slow reader, that was the problem. I was slow at reading out loud. I hated reading out loud. I’m getting better at it.
Once I realized that books told stories, I was hooked and you couldn’t pry them away from me.
I ripped through all of the books for my age category at my public library, reading some of the books multiple times. We’d go to the library the next town over just for variety.
My mother’s a reader too, so it worked out. When we’d go to the mall, my sister would head off to the clothing stores and mom and I would hit up the bookstore. I’m sure you can guess where I spent my allowance.
I’d make myself sick in the car reading on the way home (stupid motion sickness) and have one of my books finished before bedtime.
One of the things my mom did was not restricting me on what I could read. If I took a book off of her shelves and I had questions, I was free to come and talk to her about it. It lead me to finding the Hobbit at a younger age than I would’ve normally read it (Outlander too).
When I got to college, I didn’t read nearly as much. I would go through spurts of not reading until I’d get too twitchy and have to start again. I’d cycle into devouring everything I could get my hands on before burning myself out.
It’s made for some good fodder for my writing over the years, but not the healthiest of habits.
Recently, as I’ve been overhauling my habits, I’ve looked hard at my reading. I read a chapter of a nonfiction book every morning, sometimes more. I want to be a lifelong learner, so I have to make time for it. I also try to get in a chapter or more in a fiction book before bed. That doesn’t always happen because there are nights where class runs late and I just need to fall into bed at the end of the night.
I never want to stop reading. I think I’d go crazy if I didn’t have stories going on in there giving me things and worlds to think about. I do want to be steady and very deliberate with my nonfiction learning. And I want to find a way to sneak in a few extra chapters of the fiction books I’m reading.
Weekly Goals
Read one book: Success. I finished Cocky Bastard by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
Write 7K words: Failure. I didn’t get them all typed even though I’m fairly certain I wrote enough.
Sew ten dice bags: Success.
Go to class: Success.
Go to the gym twice: Success.
