If you’ve looked at the “What I’m Reading” section of this
blog, you’ve noticed that last year I challenged myself to read one non-school
related book a month for 2014. At the conclusion of 2014, I was quite pleased to find that
meeting the 12-book challenge was easier than I anticipated, so much so that
I’ve upped the ante this year and set my goal at 20 books for the year.
Over the next few blogs, I’m going to be talking about
things I learned, or relearned, through the course of getting back into reading
for enjoyment, rather than reading as a chore or a checklist I have to get
through for work.
One truth is that making time for reading is not hard.
When I first started the challenge, I knew my children would
not be the most helpful in allowing me to meet my goal. They’re young, like a
great deal of attention, and when they’re not given it, find other ways of
entertaining themselves which typically end in the dismantling
of one or more rooms in the house.
The other obstacle was the fact that I already read quite
extensively for my job. Between books for each of my classes (yes, I re-read
all books, every year!) and the writing assignments students complete, I’m
reading constantly. How was I going to find not only the time but also the
energy to add to my daily reading?
I started by setting a goal: I’d
dedicate the half hour before going to sleep to reading. By that point, the
kids would be in bed, and any work I‘d have to get done for the following day
would be completed. Once I established the routine, I figured it’d be easy to
stick to.
The problem was that I started
off reading books that would not stand for a 30-minutes-a-night limitation.
The first book of 2014 was Jennifer Donnelly’s Tea Rose. To say that I couldn’t put it down would be an understatement.
I’d go so far as to say I nearly neglected my children for the book. I say nearly because their basic needs were
all taken care of throughout the course of my reading the novel. They may have
watched more episodes of Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse during that period of time, though.
I found that if the book were
good enough, I’d find the time to read. If I arrived somewhere early or was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for an appointment, I’d have my Kindle,
or my phone with the Kindle app, that allowed me to squeeze in a few pages or
chapters during down time.
The more time I spent with
Donnelly’s characters, the less I cared about other “stuff” I was missing: the
latest episode of The Big Bang Theory
or Modern Family, and the time wasted
scrolling through my timeline on Facebook or pinning baking feats on
Pinterest that 90% of the time end in complete failure.
 |
| I crack up every time I look at this. |
The unexpected lesson in making
time for something I always enjoyed, and had allowed to get away from me? I was actually more present in other
areas of my life. I disconnected
from being connected to everything, deleting time-sucking apps from my phone
that I learned I didn’t miss while spending time reading—so why would I miss them
while hanging out in the backyard with my family, or out to dinner with my
friends?
Reading seems, on the surface, to
be an isolating activity. But when I think of the conversations I’ve had
throughout the course of the year with relatives and friends about the books
I’ve read or when I think of the excerpts that connect to lessons I’ll teach
to, and discuss with, my students, I realize just how shallow that judgment is.
Finding time to read has allowed
me to assess and prioritize how and where I spend my precious time. As I enter
into another year and a new reading challenge, I am much more content replacing
vacuous status updates with a tea entrepreneur, a Scottish Highlander and his
time traveling wife, and a blind young woman as she tries to survive occupied
France during WWII.
That’s some time well wasted.
*To borrow a phrase from Brad Paisley
