Abroad = Free Time = Reading?!

Hello everyone!

I feel the need to discuss the topic of reading.

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I loved the Scholastic Book Orders. I was so excited when our class was handed those brightly colored sheets with, what seemed like, millions of books on each page. Once I held that catalogue in my hands my eyes instantly searched the page for...the free poster/stuffed animal/things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-books.

Yep. I was one of those kids.

Don't get me wrong! My mom read to me all the time before bed. I almost successfully fell asleep to every chapter in the Little House on the Prairie series.

I believe an, "oh, geez" is appropriate from the peanut gallery. Go on. You know you want to.

I just didn't spend a lot of time reading for fun as a kid. I was doing too many activities and watching these lovely moving pictures on this thing called a television. I like to think I didn't have time to read, but I just wasn't very interested didn't make a very big effort.

I did go to the library a lot. I checked out tons of books! But I often returned almost all of them without reading them.

"You're killing me," is perfectly acceptable here.

Once I got to middle school and high school books became a large part of the curriculum. But the purpose in reading was only to write a book report or follow a "classics" curriculum. Middle school books were usually self-choice, but made reading more un-fun than ever. High school books were the most interesting reads yet (besides Harry Potter. You can't forget that classic that I slowly completed within about 10 years), but they were practically the only things I read. And it was all because my teacher wanted me to learn a new literary theme/technique/etc.

So, I guess it's time to admit it: I am not an avid reader. I don't think I'm even a very well read reader.

In college I truly didn't have a lot of time to read for fun. However, even when I had free time I more often than not picked up a magazine or watched a movie. Effort here? Zero.

"What's the point?" I hear you ask. "Has something changed?!"

Why, yes, reader. Something has changed.

While I was in New Zealand I actually had some free time. GASP! FREE TIME! What should one do with all this free time?

I. Read.

I kid you not, I read! I completed five books while I was abroad for nine weeks. That is probably the most I have read since high school. That is possibly the most I have read in such a small period of time in my life!

Were these books substantial reads? Of course not! Don't be silly!

I wanted to be excited about reading again. I wanted some relaxing reads, some books that would ease me back into reading for fun.

This is what I read:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine - This book was read aloud to me in 5th grade. I remembered loving it, but, as you have probably guessed, I hadn't read it since. I thought it would be a great starter book and it was!

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - This book was calling me from the shelf of my home stay's holiday home. I had seen the movie, but never read the book. They are very different, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book. This was a very fun read.

Shoot the Piano Player by David Goodis - This book sounded interesting and proved to be very interesting. It is set in the 50's and the book is written a bit in the vernacular of the era which made it hard to follow at times. The story was very surprising and it lives up to a true noir novel.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris - This book was a good read and very different than what I was expecting. The book covers witch craft, chocolate shops, priests, abusive relationships, sickness, and more. I've heard that this book is very different from the movie in a good way.

Watermelon by Marian Keyes - This is very much a fluff book. There is not a lot of substance in this book - all entertainment and very much a chick read. It was a great read to round off my trip!


Through this reading excursion I found I like reading! I like picking up a book and having it on my "to do" list. I like coming home from an activity and just sitting down to read. I even like falling asleep reading! It is so much more relaxing than falling asleep watching t.v. which happens more often to me than I like to admit.

Now that I am home I have read one book and am working on a couple more. "What book have I read?" you ask.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I picked this up because I love John and Hank Green on Youtube and wanted to see what John's books were like. This was very different from what I was expecting. It was more juvenile than I was expecting, but it had an air of intelligence about it. It covers a rough subject and it does so beautifully. My favorite part of the book had to be the last few chapters.

Right now I'm working on reading Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella and will start reading Project Jennifer by Jill Amy Rosenblatt once I'm done with Confessions. I'm not one to read multiple books at once. That just makes me mix up story lines and then I lose track of where I was in one book while I dove into another and I end up rereading chapters.

Well, that's my reading adventure in a nutshell.

I hope you all are enjoying this new year! Enjoy some new reads if you can.
Kt