read more, period

I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club with a couple of days to spare in February. (Lovely and fun, but a little disappointing.)

Today, as I waited around in jury duty, I tore through half of The Palace of Illusions, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. It is unbelievably fantastic, as are all her books (which I will soon re-read…and no, I won’t count that on my list!).

I don’t know what’s next yet, but somehow, working toward this goal is helping me feel as though I’m “back.” (Now if I just knew where I’d gone… :) )

In addition to reading more Terry Pratchett, I just need to read more…period. Until I got into my late 20s, I was almost never without a book in progress (and up through college, I usually had one on my person at all times).

When I moved back to Houston, started knitting, got married, and got a very busy job, reading fell dramatically (by my standards) by the wayside. It wasn’t uncommon for me to finish two or three books a month before – now, that’s fallen to one every six-eight weeks, at best. I feel a little disconnected from myself, a little less inspired.

So now, in the Year of Motivation, I’m shooting for the moon. Or at least, one of the few good old habits I have. :) My standards:

- Read at least two books per month, at least one of which is fiction.
- Read whatever I will enjoy or learn from. Those are the only content requirements; it doesn’t have to be A Classic or A Book Everyone Must Read. My staple genres will no doubt blend with my guilty pleasures here.
- Always aim higher than the minimum.
- Keep track of each by listing them in new entries here, with brief comments on any after-effects, if I want.

I’m a little behind for the moment, as January only yielded one partial completion: It’s All Too Much (by Peter Walsh), an organize-your-home plan from the guy who did the organizing on Clean Sweep. February looks better so far; I read Neil Gaiman’s Coraline after seeing the movie, and now (via a work friend’s suggestion) I’m into The Friday Night Knitting Club (by Kate Jacobs).

My lifelong voracious reading habit led to my great career and several of my hobbies. I owe it to myself to honor this, and to find the time to expand my joy and curl up with my nose in a book every chance I get.