One of the deals I made with myself when I left the-job-that-ate-my-life was to re-learn to read. Doesn't sound difficult, but pleasure reading had become a true challenge during the siege of graduate school. Then came kids and then a killer job...and reading--for my own enjoyment--fell to the bottom of the list. Reading for work took more time than one often credits, and actually is not a good example of how to read for pleasure.
During my six month hiatus last year I fell headlong into reading--anything, everything, all the time! It was joyful! Once I started back to work I challenged myself to maintain that spark for reading what
I want to read--and to nurture that new relationship I'd developed with my library. I also know that I'm abysmally poor at New Year's resolutions--and this felt a lot like one of those. I doubted my abilities...
Happy to say, though: half way through the calendar year I'm fairing well, and almost a full year from starting a new job, I'm managing to find space for both work & pleasure reading. Hooray!
I'm still kinda stuck on memoirs--don't know what that's about but I'm not too concerned. Finding new authors (to me) is always fun--falling down the well of infatuation at the beginning of a new relationship.
So here are my top picks for the first half of the year (although I haven't met one I didn't like yet):
The Company of Liars by Karen Maitland--England in the plague era; characters you learn to truly care about; and surprises that you didn't see coming (not a common occurrence).
The School of Essential Ingredients by Seattle author Erica Bauermeister, a wonderful & touching romp through a cooking class and it's participants.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells. A memoir so fantastical it reads as though it should be fiction. I just heard she has a book based on her grandmother's life; gotta add it to the cue.
Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay - the heart wrenching parallel stories of occupied Paris in the summer of 1942 & the rediscovery of the dark story at the 60th anniversary; seems bleak but can't put it down once you start.
I've also discovered a new author, Colin Cotterill (thanks to my bro!) & have been enjoying spirit filled mysteries in post-war Laos.
What's been your favorite book(s) so far this year?
Please share so I can add it to my list... 8-)
During my six month hiatus last year I fell headlong into reading--anything, everything, all the time! It was joyful! Once I started back to work I challenged myself to maintain that spark for reading what I want to read--and to nurture that new relationship I'd developed with my library. I also know that I'm abysmally poor at New Year's resolutions--and this felt a lot like one of those. I doubted my abilities...
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