"Reading one book is like eating one potato chip." Diane Duane
I'm a reader of a variety of genres. From time to time, I post on Facebook for book suggestions or take a suggestion from goodreads.com. The library is my friend, and I giggle a little inside when any of the librarians say, "Hi, Mrs. H! There's a book on the hold shelf for you." Yep, they know me by name. I have even considered greatly the possibility of working in library services once I'm ready to enter the workforce on a consistent basis.
I have two challenges for myself:
1. To read the books I have on my bookshelf.
2. To re-read (or read for the first time) some of the classics.
A little-known fact: my associate's degree is in literature. I started college as an English and secondary education major. After I shifted gears in my education, I completed this degree before moving on. I chose to read and write a lengthy paper on Anna Karenina when I was a junior or senior in high school, which my teacher thought might be a bit insane. A majority of my classes the first couple of years in college were literature-based, including a class entirely on Emily Dickinson. (Loved it!!)
Shockingly, my husband and I share one bookcase. While I love to read, I rarely re-read. Hundreds of books are listed on my "to read" list, so why re-read a book? Again, this is why I love the library! (I also like book trading websites, like bookmooch.com.)
To achieve goal #1, I am making an effort to read one book on my shelf in between every library book I read. Once I read it, I place the book on half.com to sell or on bookmooch.com to trade. The only books I keep have to be special to me or ones that I reference often. For example, I hold onto books like Too Small to Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford. A couple of pages buried inside this book are often read when I share about Haiti. Another example is my signed copy of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch from when I met Alison Arngrim (Nellie Olson from Little House on the Prairie). Two very opposite books, but again, ones that show my variety of interests.
For goal #2, I pop onto goodreads.com to see what they recommend for me in the genre of "classics" based on my previous reviews. This summer I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird, and I am so glad I did! There was so much I missed as a teenager, and my perspective as a 30-something is so different. A couple of days ago I finished The Color Purple. I definitely don't rank it with Too Kill a Mockingbird, but I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.
Books are an escape, sometimes a guilty pleasure. Rarely do I find them a waste of time.
