On Reading

I love to read. I'm a big believer in its ability to shape us and change us. Though I realize that I'm a bit over the top with how much I read, I think that everyone should carve out space in their lives to read and read well.

Alissa spoke about reading well on IAM's Conversations podcast recently. She brought up a lot of good points about how we internalize the things we read, and how to read better. It's certainly worth listening to if you haven't yet.

One thing she talked about was how she goes about reading, particularly because she consumes a massive amount of books (she read something like sixty books last year!). So I thought I'd share how I go about tackling the never-ending mountain of books, as I'm trying to stay on track for reading fifty-two books this year.

I'm learning that the key to getting a lot of books read is to have several going at one time. For most of this year, I've had three or more books on my currently-reading list. That usually includes one fiction and one nonfiction book, as well as a book I'm reading to Lily a little bit every night (right now, it's Charlotte's Web). The fiction books get read faster than the nonfiction, but my nonfiction reads are more contemplative and I need more time to linger over them. Also, if I have to read my book group selection because we meet later that week, I put everything aside and focus all my efforts on finishing that book.

There is definitely an ebb and flow to handling this much reading. I don't force myself to read every day. Whole weeks have gone by while I take a break from reading, and it's okay. Somehow I'm staying on track. But even if I don't, I am reading some awesome and thought provoking books. And time spent reading is never time wasted.