One of the personal development things that I’ve been working on has been to be a better reader. I was the kid that wanted to go to a bookstore vs. a toy store, so I’m honestly disappointed in myself and that I let reading for leisure fall so hard to the wayside. Yes, I got busy with work and blogging and blah, blah, blah, but if I’m truly being honest with myself, getting caught up in the (social media) scroll and not making reading a priority is what caused me to stop reading so much.
During my trip to Costa Rica in March, I picked up a non-fiction book that I read in 2 days (it was so good I almost cried at the ending on the plane ride home, lol), and being able to accomplish that while still doing everything else really reignited my passion for reading. I’ve since completed 3 more books, but I’m still not doing it as much as I could…and honestly SHOULD, because truth be told, I gather I so much inspiration from books. I’ve always been able to completely engross myself in a book, to the point that I can visualize everything happening as I read, and I miss doing that on a regular basis. I listen to Audible, but it’s not the same, so I don’t really count those as “reading”. I place them under the podcast category.
Like going to an art gallery or listening to music, reading helps to expand both my creativity and curiosity, and lately I’ve felt a little burnt out in the inspiration department (which is one of the reasons I haven’t been blogging as much either, but that’s a whole different conversation to be had). I really want to get back into it, however, so I’ve picked up a few books (as if I needed more, lol), and have tasked myself to complete at least 3 before the first day of Fall (September 23rd). That’s 6 weeks (aka 2 weeks allotted to each book)-surely I can do that?!
Anyway, I picked up more than 3 books (because I have a problem, lol), so I wanted to share the latest tombs I’ve added to my collection. I would love to read more than 3 within this time frame, but I want to be honest with myself, my schedule, and my focus, so I think 3 is more than enough and achievable. Here’s what I recently added to my home library for my Mid-Summer Reading List:
A Renaissance of Our Own | Rachel Cargle
Business or Pleasure | Rachel Lynn Solomon
Art on My Mind | Bell Hooks
Three Martini Afternoons At The Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton | Gail Crowther
Their Eyes Were Watching God | Zora Neal Hurston
Before I Let Go | Kennedy Ryan
As much as I love reading about business and marketing and self-help, I needed to put a pause on those so that I can refresh my mind and get back to the more creative side of things. I’ve had many false starts with this (chile, just look at my past reading list posts), but something feels different this time around. Fingers crossed that I will be able to achieve my goal!
What are you reading right now?
