2015 has been a great year for me as far as reading is concerned. As of today, I am reading my 56th book. I’m really surprised that I have been able to read that much honestly. And what I enjoy the most about it is that they are books that I am choosing for myself.
Previously on this blog, most of the books I reviewed were ones I had been given or that I chose to review in exchange for a free copy. It’s a fun idea in theory, but 9 times out of 10 I found myself bored to tears with the books. It is much more interesting and engrossing to read something you have picked off the shelf based on your own interest.
I have found myself going back and reading books that are a bit older that I never got a change to read during their ‘time’, if you will. Examples of this would be Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Satran Foer, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston (aka 127 Hours), Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
Into Thin Air freaked me out but I could not stop reading it. The fact that people know what a trip up Everest is going to do to their body yet they still do it just blows my mind.
I read several biographies too including those by Tina Fey, Russell Brand, Brian Wilson and Darryl Hammond. Generally, I don’t care for biographies but when someone has a truly intriguing story it makes it more like reading a novel and I can definitely get into those. I had a few weeks there of being obsessed with Brian Wilson. We saw the movie Love and Mercy at the Belcourt, I started reading the book and then we were able to see Brian perform at the Woods Amphitheater. It was a pretty cool month of delving in to one man’s story in varying mediums.
I am not a purist when it comes to reading. You will find me reading a book or reading on my Kindle, it just kind of depends on where or how I found the current book I am reading. Kindle has started a new service called Kindle Unlimited where they have a rather large library of books that are ‘free’ when you sign up for this service. It is $11 a month and I have found many good books this way and even a few new to me authors. You are able to keep 10 Kindle Unlimited books on your Kindle at a time, so I find myself going through that library and selecting 10 I think look interested. I will then read about half of them, ‘return’ them, and then fill my Kindle back up.
Reading for me is a great way to relax and escape the real world. I am hoping I can make it to 100 books this year, but with it now being the beginning of October I am not sure I will be able to achieve that.
But the fact that I’ve read more books this year than some people read in their entire life makes me happy with what I have achieved so far.
Melodiesintune 