Happy Friday everyone! I took this week off from my 9-5 gig in honor of my 35th birthday, which I just celebrated on Wednesday. It’s been SO cold here in Pennsylvania that I’ve pretty much just stayed indoors this week (except for a trip to IKEA (!) on Monday and my birthday dinner on Wednesday). To fill the time I’ve been cleaning out and organizing a few spaces that have gotten wayyy out of control (after binge watching Tidying Up on Netflix over the weekend). I’m jumping on the Marie Kondo bandwagon and getting rid of what doesn’t spark joy! But more on that next week!
Today I want to restart my series on hobbies that I began last year with my gardening post (HERE) and never continued beyond that. So the plan is that every month I will be introducing a new hobby I want to tackle, and hopefully by the end of the year I’ll have a few new things that I enjoy doing to fill my free time more thoughtfully.
First up, reading!
What To Read
I love to read: all kinds of fiction, self-help, soul searching, biographies, etc. I also have A LOT of home decor books, but I’m not sure those count as reading… but maybe I could/should count them! For extra credit…?
One Book At A Time. In the past I’ve tended to read in spurts throughout the year, finding a few books I was interested in all at the same time and then reading a little bit of each one. I found myself doing that this January. But I decided to just choose one to finish, and I did it! Hooray! I read and finished Unf*ck Your Habitat. I liked this book, but found a big chunk of it didn’t apply to me, so I skipped around. I took some nuggets of wisdom to implement into my cleaning/organizing routine, and would recommend if you too find it difficult to get motivated sometimes.
Now I’m ready to tackle February’s book (which is another one that I started (LAST MAY!) and never finished. By no fault of the book, I’ve quite enjoyed it so far! February’s book is Off The Clock by Laura Vanderkam, which I’m choosing to tackle this month because I would like to finish it before her next book comes out in March.
When To Read
I used to read a lot more regularly and consistently. That was before I had my own place, and when I had more free time on my hands. And a valid library card too. I’d read a book cover to cover in the 3 week loan period and then move on to another one on my hold list. If I really got into it, sometimes it wouldn’t even take me that long. But life got real when I bought my house almost 4 years ago. Now I get through half a book in 6 months, maybe, haha. But I want to make reading more of a priority, so time to make some changes!
I like the idea of reading before bed, but the truth is I don’t get very far when that’s the only time I read. So my plan is to read a little each morning before work instead of scrolling around online or on Instagram, to carve out some time on weekend afternoons, and then supplement that with evenings or before bed for as long as I can keep my eyes open, haha…
With the Kindle app on my phone, it’s easier to find pockets of time to fit reading in. This is an idea that Laura Vanderkam touts and I’m definitely on board with it. I’ve already tested it out last month and it makes it so convenient! I’m hoping that helps me succeed in re-kindling (pun totally intended) this hobby!
My 2019 Reading List (in no particular order)
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
- Juliet’s School of Possibilities by Laura Vanderkam
- Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
- The 6 Keys by Jillian Michaels
- In the Light of the Garden by Heather Burch
- Judgement Detox by Gabrielle Bernstein
- Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle
- Planting Dandelions by Kyran Pittman
- The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
- #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
Reading more is one of my goals for 2019 also! Just finished Becoming by Michelle Obama. I enjoyed it and highly recommend! Next up – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Yup – you read that right. We were the target audience age when this series was written, but I never read them somehow. Or saw the movies. So I’m gonna give the first one a shot and if I enjoy it, I am sure I will enjoy the next 6 as well 😃
I have a new and updated list on goodreads. I haven’t used it in years. Excited to get into some new novels too.
Yay! I am excited to read Becoming, but I want to finish two others that I’ve started first to ease myself into the book a month goal! But then Becoming is next!
I hope you enjoy Harry Potter! I read and re-read the books every time a new movie came out, hahaha– definitely when I had more time! But they’re addicting!! I think you’ll love them.