Lately, I've been spending a lot of
energy writing. Since my schedule was already pretty full, some things had to
be put on the back burner. One of them was reading. I've always loved to read,
escaping into different worlds, living through achingly hard times with the
protagonist, and cheering when they overcome their difficulties. I was
especially drawn to romance stories, because they almost always end with a
"happily ever after." I remember during one especially busy period in
my life, when I was teaching full time and keeping up with two very active
teenagers, I would read one romance novel every night. I found that living
through the characters' conflict and resolution helped me get to sleep, knowing
that all was right with the world.
During the last Christmas season, I
noticed that Goodreads posted a reading challenge. I could choose a number of
books to read, and Goodreads would help me keep track of them. The idea
appealed to me, because I could feed my creativity while helping my fellow
authors by giving them feedback on their books. So many of them have graciously
read my stories and written reviews, and I wanted to get into the habit of
doing so for them. I decided I would try and read 50 books in 2012 (I know
that's nothing compared to what some people read, but it's a huge jump for
me!), rate each one, and write short reviews. That's a little less than one
book per week.
It's been tough sometimes, but
thanks to ebooks loaded on my phone, my ipad and my laptop, I'm keeping up. I
never thought I'd be comfortable reading on the tiny screen on my phone, but
it's great for passing the time when I have fifteen minutes here and ten
minutes there. I'm reading some wonderful books! If you're a Goodreads member
I'd love to learn about some of the books you're reading too. Add me as a
Goodreads friend. We'll share our thoughts on what we're reading, and we'll
each learn about more great books. What could be better?
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Easter is coming up, and I wanted
to make some cute "baskets" using stuff I have in the house. I
decorated some plain gift bags with some lace flowers and later I'll fill them with
Easter goodies. A quick and easy project!
First, what darling bags! You are so creative.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to balance our love of reading with our job of writing. Unless it's a book so compelling I can't put it down, I reserve that downtime right before bed to read. Sometimes, I read way too long. :)