For the love of reading

I have always been a lover of books. New books. Old books. Fiction. Non-fiction. No matter what the book was about I was willing to read it. The first book I was truly passionate about was “The Great Gatsby”. It was 10th grade English class. I was so enthralled with the book that I finished in no time. Every word in the book was like a piece of chocolate tempting my very being. I needed more. To this day it continues to be my favorite book and is read about once every two years.

In 2010, when I had Annaliese, reading became a distant friend. I would rarely keep in touch and every now and then I would say a quick hello before being distracted by life. It only got worse. One year I did not even pick up a book. It was the worst kind of breakup. I was sad, lonely, hoping for just one more chance. Reading was always on my mind. I wanted to meet new characters and become part of their worlds. It was an agonizing battle that I wanted to conquer. 2014 was the first year that I dedicated myself to win the battle. I was able to read through five books. I know, to many that seems to be a typo. Only five books?!?! Well I assure you I struggled to read throughout the entire year. It took everything in my power to carve time out for myself to dive into a book. Reading tends to be pushed to the very bottom of the totem pole. So to be able to read through five books I felt as though I was a winner!

This year is no different. I have a number of books that I have collected that need to be read. They are done with collecting dust. I hear whispers of “read me” as I walk by my bookshelf. So I complied ten books that I want to push myself to read. Books that feed my soul. Fiction, history, life lessons. A wide array of books to create thoughts and feelings. I hope that I am able to accomplish this goal and know that there will need to be a lot of self-motivation in order to reach it!

So first up is the agonizing completion of Crime and Punishment. I have tried for two years to accomplish this task. It is the driest most confusing book I have ever tried to read. But I am back at it again and hope to finish soon!! I will keep you updating on my progress and achievements!

Happy reading!!!