One thing I’m doing this year is “reading first”. I’m using the “read first” motto to prioritize reading. I realized that the last few years, chores like laundry and cleaning up the house had taken over my daytime reading and I wasn’t picking up a book until late in the evening. I’m determined to change this. I read online someone’s advice to read, even if it’s just for 10-15 minutes, before you do other tasks. So far this month, using this technique, I’ve read 15 books! In contrast, I read 10 books in January 2022. Reading is my passion and I love that I am making more time for it.
As part of my goal to “read first,” I am also listening to audiobooks. I listen to audiobooks on my phone using the library’s free Libby app. So far this year I am on my third audiobook. I read more than I listen, so I have purposefully selected short audiobooks. The feeling of accomplishment from finishing them in a reasonable amount of time motivates me to listen more. The first book I listened to was the memoir “House Lessons: Renovating a Life” by Erica Bauermeister. It is Bauermeister's account of buying and renovating an old house in Port Townsend, Washington. Next up was “Shakespeare” by Bill Bryson. I appreciated Bryson’s thorough approach to what we know about Shakespeare. I learned that we know very little about Shakespeare and even the images of him are mostly guesswork. We still have many words and phrases from Shakespeare that are part of our everyday vocabulary.
I am currently listening to “Happier at Home” by Gretchen Rubin. This is Rubin’s second happiness project, where she makes concentrated efforts to improve her happiness – this time focusing on her home life. I love Rubin’s voice and enjoy listening to her narration. Like Rubin, I am a self-help nerd and I love learning ideas to try myself. This year, I’d also like to listen to Rubin’s book “Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives.”
When it comes to print books, many of the books I’ve read so far this month are memoirs. I enjoyed “The Year of Less” by Cait Flanders. I appreciated Flanders' honesty and detail about how she realized her shopping habits were a problem, decided to do a year-long shopping ban and stuck to it. There is much more to Flanders' story in this book and she also writes about how, prior to her shopping ban, she stopped drinking and spent down her debt. This is a short, motivating read.
While I’ve found myself mostly reading nonfiction the past few years, I’ve read some enjoyable novels this month. I read “What We Were Promised” by Lucy Tan. This novel follows Lina Zheng. Lina was born in rural China, married her husband Wei, then moved with him to America. After a few decades they returned to China, this time living in a corporate-funded apartment in Shanghai. Lina stopped working and became a taitai, a woman of luxury. Yet, she can't stop thinking about a boy from her childhood, Wei's brother. Sunny is a maid for the Zhengs’ apartment building. She lives with many roommates and dutifully sends almost all of her money back to her parents, who farm in rural China. Yet her parents are disappointed that, after being widowed, she hasn't remarried and had children. Both Lina and Sunny are looking for their places in life. Tan writes realistic characters and slowly uncovers their pasts throughout the book. This is Tan’s debut novel and I look forward to more from this author.
If there’s something you’d like to change about your reading life, or you’re just looking for good book lists, I recommend the website Bibliolifestyle.com. In addition to recommending great books, they have a weekly newsletter and many articles about how to read more, set and achieve your reading goals and much more!
The next time you’re in the library, let me know how your reading year is starting off.
Katelyn Boyer is the Adult Services Librarian at the Fergus Falls Public Library.
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