Reading ideas

Reading Ideas When You Must Stay at Home

/ rtrube54 / 5 Comments
woman sitting while reading a book

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

In this time of staying at home, our approach to reading may be simply to work through our “to be read” pile. When we can’t go out to buy books, maybe the best approach may be to read the books we already have. After all, at some point, there was something about that book that was of interest! Beyond this, here are a few ideas;

  1. This might be a good time to binge-read your favorite author, or a series.
  2. You could pick a part of the world that you might like to visit, and read up on it so that when you visit, you can go as a savvy traveler.
  3. You might read one book that gets you out of your reading rut. Maybe a graphic novel. Or a play. Or book of poetry. Something you don’t usually read.
  4. Read books by authors from another country to see the world from another perspective.
  5. Read a book of local history. Sometimes, we don’t know very much about the place where we live. Like from where the streets get their names.
  6. When was the last time you read a children’s book? The best ones speak to children of all ages. So where did I leave that copy of The House at Pooh Corner?
  7. Discover a great science writer. The great ones from Isaac Asimov to Neil deGrasse Tyson can make science fascinating for everyone.
  8. Read one book that explores some of life’s big questions. A religious text. A philosophy book. Maybe some Marcus Aurelius.
  9. Maybe there are some do-it-yourself projects you’ve decided to take on since you’ve been looking at your house or garden more. Cooking, carpentry, landscaping, and other do-it-yourself books might be a welcome addition to your reading.
  10. This might not be the time to read about pandemics or dystopian futures–unless you are into that sort of thing. A cozy mystery or some escapist fiction might be a better choice.

We may not be able to venture out in all the ways we would like. But a simpler life might offer chances for different kinds of ventures, ones that might enrich our lives in ways we remember, long after all this is in the rear view mirror.

National Read a Book Day

/ rtrube54 / 2 Comments

weird-and-wackybooksI don’t usually do posts on Sundays, but just wanted to highlight that today (September 6) is National Read a Book Day! I don’t know who thinks these things up, but I like the idea! (Of course, for some of us, every day is “read a book day”!)

Some thoughts that came to me of how to celebrate National Read a Book Day:

  1. Visit the library with your family and everyone pick out a book to read.
  2. Check your local paper for any authors doing readings of their books–usually at a local book store.
  3. Find out what your friends thought was their best “summer read”. Some good wine and cheese is always a nice accompaniment. You might get an idea of something you’d like.
  4. If you are traveling over the Labor Day weekend, get or download a recorded book to listen to in the car.
  5. Or go low tech and take turns reading to each other in the car. No DWR (driving while reading)!
  6. Visit your “to be read” pile and pull out something that has been sitting there a while and read ten pages and decide if it should stay on the pile, get promoted, or discarded.
  7. Cozy up in a hammock or comfortable outdoor chair with a cold drink and enjoy a late summer afternoon read (and maybe a nap–just don’t get sunburned!).
  8. Pick a book that can be read at a sitting and read it. My reading of most books is broken up. Sometimes it is nice to get the sense of the whole book in one sitting.
  9. Pull out one of your favorite books of all time that you haven’t read in the last five years and revisit an old friend.
  10. And above all, READ something you can enjoy. I think that’s the idea after all.

What ideas do you have for celebrating National Read a Book Day?