When I was in elementary school, we were allowed to check out as many books as a week as the grade we were in. 1st, 1 book. 3rd grade, 3 books. And so on. I always checked out the maximum number permitted. You can imagine how excited I was by the time I hit the 6th grade. I used to stay up all night reading. My favorites were books like Anne of Green Gables and The Little House on the Prairie. Then it was on to more adult things like Little Women, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (I collected the British editions), and Catcher in the Rye.
I was always a reader, but I think I stopped reading so much when I became an English major, which is sort of silly. We had so many books to read in such a short span of time, plus so many papers to write about those books, that I glazed over many of them and stopped finding much enjoyment in reading. 18th Century American Literature can do that to a girl.
Now I can read what I want at my own pace – what a joy! To keep my momentum going, I’ve signed up for Goodread’s 2013 Reading Challenge and tasked myself with reading 50 books this year. That’s 1 a week, which is working out quite well now that I take the bus to work and have at least 30 minutes a day to read while I travel.
So far I’ve read Mystic River by Denis Lehane, The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje, and Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. I’d recommend them all! And I just stared reading The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich last night.
I could use more suggestions because I have 49 more to go and I want them to be good ones! Follow me on Goodreads or leave a comment below with your favorite reads.
P.S. A literary vending machine and love stories.
