One of my favourite things to do is read. It always has been ever since I was a kid. I remember in school having a reading age of a 17 year old when I was only about half that age. I used to ask for books 📚 rather than Easter Eggs at Easter! (I regret that now!) I was an avid library goer, and it was such a highlight getting to go into my local town to pick out books. My family are mostly big readers too. Growing up, my mum, aunt and grannies used to share their books around and I got in on the action early, starting to read adult books when I was about 9 or 10. My favourite book as a kid was Jilly Cooper's Polo! (Random)
I think reading is underrated as a hobby. People often tell me it's a chore, or it's boring. Or they don't have the time to read. And the opposite of that - if you do have the time to read, you are somehow not productive or busy enough, if you've time to sit around reading books. I think these are all just excuses and myths that keep you back from doing something that will actually add a lot of value and enjoyment to your life.
If you haven't already guessed, I love reading! And I would recommend it to anyone of any age as a good thing to do.
Reading expands your vocabulary to make you a better communicator. It provides a welcome escape to different worlds. I can read Eat Pray Love and be transplanted to Bali without ever having to leave my couch. It opens your mind as books will have characters, places and situations that you've never encountered in real life, educating you on the realities of people whose world looks different than yours. It opens up your imagination, sparking off creativity and dreams of things you may someday want to do.
I love to read. I generally have a couple of books on the go at the one time. My tastes change. Sometimes I will read a lot of work related books, other times fiction, other times personal development. That's the great thing about reading, there aren't any rules so you can pick up whatever book takes your fancy at that moment in time. It also moves with the seasons of your life. From Babysitters Club to Lee Child. You can read to work through specific things you have going on. For example, if you want to get better with your money, you can read a book on personal finances. And other times you just read for fun, just because. Is there anything better than reading a book on a sun lounger at the side of the pool somewhere hot, with a cocktail beside you and suncream all over the page of a cannot put down chick lit novel. I hope those days come back soon..... 😎
I think reading has become very accessible, as there are so many choices. Joining a local library is free, so whatever your budget you can pick up books easily. And most libraries have digital book borrowing options too if that is more your thing (once you have an account, it also means you don't need to leave your home to borrow books - perfect for our limited, social distancing, lockdown lives).
Or you could listen to your books. I love Audible, and nearly always listen to audio books when I'm driving. Its a great way to insert learning into what is otherwise dead time. (3 Years of a long commute taught me that! Thank you Covid for making work from home acceptable). You can read digitally with a Kindle either, and it works out very cheap with a monthly subscription. Although personally I still prefer a physical book. I think it's part of the joy for me, turning the pages and marking and highlighting the parts I really enjoy.
I always love when someone shares book recommendations as there is nothing worse than picking up a dud book that you cannot read because its so terrible. I used to read to the end anyway as I hated not finishing something that I started, but now I don't because life is too short to read bad books (or drink bad wine 🍷).
There is also a real thing where books come into your life exactly when you need them, so that's why sometimes people will love a book that you weren't that mad about. Or why you couldn't finish a book the first time you tried to read it, but 2 years later you read it cover to cover and it changed your life.
A fun thing I like to do is to save €1 in a Revolut vault for every book I read. That way I can instantly see how many books I've read in the year, and at the end I will have some money to spend on something nice for myself. Maybe a new book?!!
I am so lucky that my work has a Free Books Program, where we get credit to download one book a month. I think it's a great way to encourage learning and development, in a fun and natural way. And they have loads of data built up on different books, so you can better avoid duds and get ideas for new reads.
It can also be a way to build social connections. I've been part of many a book club in my day. Albeit in my 20s, it was really just a cover for Wine Club, but all the same, I read some good books, drank some not so good wine and had lots of fun doing it! In this new world, I'm currently part of a virtual bookclub with total strangers which has been fun, and a great way to expand horizons within a more restricted world.
I didn't have a major reason for writing this other than I read a really good book lately and wanted others to know that joyful feeling too. I might even start doing some reviews here of the stand out books I read.
If you have any book recommendations, I would love to hear them!
Want to become a reader, or commit to read more? Check out Audible
I'm an avid audiobook listener with currently over 180 book titles in my digital library. I love to listen to audiobooks to make use of "dead" time, like commuting, or when I am cooking, before bed or when exercising.
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