Reading Habits

When do you find time to read?  I suspect that you, like me, love to read but often can’t find the time to sit down for extended periods to enjoy reading. When I sit down to read, the Guilt Fairy nags me that I should be doing something more productive like laundry or preparing dinner.  Reading is a true pleasure and sometimes I feel guilty for indulging.  Recently, I told myself that I will read for an hour a day. Knowing that it was on my schedule helped me make sure I got everything else done before my reading time. Writing always comes first – in the morning. Reading is a reward at the end of my day, before I need to start dinner. So far so good. I haven’t felt compelled to interrupt my reading time with chores since instituting my “Read for an Hour a Day” rule. (And I admit, sometimes I go over that hour.)

But what if you have young children at home? Or a full time day job?  You might want to try a Read At The Table Night as author Linda Urban does with her family. Every Tuesday night at her house, she sets out finger foods on the dinner table – cheeses, breads, and more. During dinner, each family member brings a book to the table and gets lost in his/her reading while noshing, nourishing both body and soul. For more about her family reading habit, see her blog post which will lead you to an article she wrote for Book Hook. By the way, I highly recommend you subscribe to Book Hook, a newsletter that provides some fabulous reading recommendations!

What are your reading habits? I’d love to hear them!  I’m in the process of setting up a reading retreat with a friend – an afternoon away with nothing to do but read. I’ll be blogging about the experience here later this month!

PS – This is one of my favorite photos. The summer my daughter was 11 years old, when we were living in Shanghai, she read the entire series (what was available then) of Harry Potter while we toured around China. She was never without a book in her hand. This is at a restaurant after a long day of touring, with my husband, Bob, looking over her shoulder.