One thing I have always loved was a good book.
Recently we did the 'Great Purge of 2018' going through closets, cabinets, attic, every nook and cranny in our house and purged what we are no longer using, or what we are hoarding because 'we may do that diy project'.
It was cathartic, it was fun, it was bittersweet. I felt a great relief going through my things, organizing, facing a reality that I am never going to use it, understanding it is useless to hold on to an item to keep a memory alive. I learned so much about myself....until the books.
Books are my friends. I have so many that I have re read countless times, it's like going to a family reunion. They are always there when I need them. They motivate me, inspire me, comfort me, support me. The idea of having to get rid of books was like giving away my best friend. I couldn't do it. But I had to. I had books stacked in the closet floors, on shelves, under the couch, behind the couch against the wall, in tubs under my bed. I had even got rid of clothes, so I had room to put books in my dresser drawers. 75% of them, I hadn't read, these were books I was hoarding. It was so difficult for me to go through all of my books, putting them in "keep" and 'donate' piles. I ran the gambit of emotions, angry, desperate, guilty, relieved, and the tears. When it was done, I had donated over half of my books. The rooms were tidier, the bookcase was organized, and there are still so many titles that I haven't read alongside of my friends, who are waiting for me to visit again.
Let's rewind back to 2008 and before.......
I always had my nose in a book, sometimes pouring over three a week. If I had five minutes to myself, I was reading. Books were two deep in the bookcase, and then books layered in any free space. Stacks of books. It completely undid the use of the bookcase, as in, being able to glance at the spines of your books to see what you had. If you were looking for a book, you had to dig through the books to find it.
Oh and book stores! Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, Borders, Waldens Books, the local used book store we had in the area , and I won't even mention the local library sale each year. It was a pay day treat to go to the book stores. B&N we would get a coffee and wander in the books. I always cruised the sci fi/fantasy and reference books, and then to my favorite the clearance section. It was nothing to drop $100 on books. I couldn't wait to come home, curl up on the couch and crack the spine of that book. What a glorious sound! Oh and the smell of a new book!!!!
Then I made a career choice that had me in front of a computer all the time. I could pull up articles and books online, I could read anytime I wanted! It wasn't long that the short attention span theater that the internet provided sucked me in, and I had to have instant gratification. I couldn't read a book. I couldn't get lost in the story, the building of the characters. I had to skip chapters, I had to read the last few pages to know how it ended. I had to find out so I could move on, find something else to stimulate me, to satisfy me.
I stopped reading all together.
Now, let's fast forward and here I am today with a reading list challenge that I am so excited about. I am tired of the internet, and want that intimate experience of curling up with a book and letting my mind wander and explore and create.
I found this reading challenge that will allow me to use my books, books I have read, and books that I still need to read. I approach the idea of books differently now. I won't buy new books anymore, I don't want to add to anymore production or manufacturing on the planet. I use the local library, or the
OverDrive App and download them to my nook or computer. It is more like fostering. I get to keep them for a while, and then let them go on to someone else who needs them :)
I need to get on it. I just found the list today, and I have to read a 500 page book by Sunday!!
Reading Challenge 2019
1. A Book With More Than 500 Pages
2. Book You Haven’t Read by Author You Love
3. Goodreads winner in 2018
4. You Can Read in a Day
5. Book About a Difficult Topic
6. Recommended by a Friend
7. Book That Will Make You Cry
8. Book Published in 2009
9. Book Becoming Movie in 2019
10. A Genre You Don’t Usually Read
11. Children’s Classic
12. Cover With Your Favorite Color
13. Bought at a Thrift Store
14. Young Adult Fiction
15. First Book in a Trilogy
16. Second Book in a Trilogy
17. Third Book in a Trilogy
18. Dystopian Novel
19. Award-Winning Book
20. A Book from the Rory Gilmore Challenge
21. Published the Decade Before You Were Born
22. Historical Fiction From A Favorite Time Period
23. Classic You’ve Never Read
24. A Book That Will Keep You Up All Night
25. 2018 bestseller
26. Nonfiction Book about Science
27. Listen to an Audiobook
28. Set in Your Home State
29. You Once Started But Never Finished
30. With a One Word Title
31. A Fairy Tale Retelling
32. Celebrity Book Club Pick
33. A Book You Read in High School
34. Business or Personal Finance Book
35. Autobiography or Memoir
36. Book Set in Another Country
37. Reread a Favorite Book
38. Book by a Local Author
39. Banned Book
40. Narrative Nonfiction
41. On Your To-Read List the Longest
42. A Book About Travel
43. Popular Book You’ve Never Read
44. True Crime
45. Nonfiction Bestseller
46. Science Fiction Novel
47. A Book You Own But Haven’t Read
48. Recommended by a Local Librarian
49. 2019 New Release
50. The First Book in a Series
51. Prettiest cover
52. An Inspirational Story
While I was looking for this challenge, I also found the Masterlist of reading challenges. There is not enough time in the day!!!
I would love to hear about what you are reading and I'll post a review of what I read this week on Monday.
And remember, be peaceful, be kind it is important!
Until next time!!
