saturday thoughts on reading

[solarpsychedelic]

Finished Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon. Liked it, and it ended up being deeper than I’d anticipated. I was looking for fun, fluffy, freedom in college romance and while it had those elements, the story went deeper in to mental health and family trauma. Author handled the issues well and it made sense, because mental health issues can manifest during those years.

My current read is The Guest by Emma Cline. Read the first chapter with this morning’s coffee and I can see this will be a character study of a rather unpleasant character. The writing is good and carrying my interest along so I will continue.

I see the discussions about whether it’s possible to read 100 books in a year. I’d say in my younger years, yes, I could have done that because in general I was galloping through life. Now a more realistic goal is a range between 35 to 50 books in a year. I read more slowly now, due to attention span and burnout issues, yes, but I also want to savor and reflect on my reads and re-build a good reading habit. Reading for at least an hour before bed instead of doomscrolling helps my own mental health.

Devoting myself to reading again also brings up the good memories of reading during my childhood. I can still recall getting my first library card and how excited I was to check out books, first from the kids’ section and then “graduating” to the grown up books. I’ve carried that library habit throughout my life.