Rediscovering Reading
Reading used to be my passtime of choice, I was a bookworm. As a kid I spent every Saturday at the local library, maxing out my borrow limit. I took these books home, reading them cover to cover before eagerly awaiting my next library visit. As exams and the other pressures of growing up mounted, this hobby was put to one side. As a twenty-one year old, I found myself plodding through one book every six months. This led me to set a reading goal for 2021: to read one book every month; twelve books in total. By the 7th of May, I had surpassed this target.
I began with fiction books. I found these newly published sensational thrillers hard to put down. Books like Girl A by Abigail Dean quickly replaced a large volume of my mindless Netflix consumption (a bad habit I picked up during the pandemic). A juicy plotline helped create a daily habit of reading, and fictional worlds such as in The Handmaid’s Tale kept me gripped. I found the accomplishment of finishing a book and ticking it off on my Goodreads account a rewarding pastime.
Finding myself eager to discuss my reads with others, I joined a book club: Books and Biscuits. This led to me reading outside of my comfort zone of gruesome murders and psychological thrillers (Shutter Island was a standout in this genre). I found myself in the world of essay collections, such as In the Kitchen (a surprisingly good read) and biographies (a genre I’m not keen to venture back to). I found it interesting to discuss these books with others, hearing their perspective on the plots. It also challenged me with deadlines on books. I finished To be a Gay Man in a single afternoon! This is something I hadn’t done since secondary school.
Through reading Small Great Things with Books and Biscuits, I discovered the power of books in highlighting social and racial issues. I moved on to reading The Colour Purple, a book detailing racism and misogyny. These books taught me life lessons and were very powerful learning tools. I found my local library has a section for Black authors which I now frequent, picking up books such as They Can’t Kill us All. They also encouraged me to find my own voice, inspiring my previous post My Experience as a Woman in Physics. I found these non-fiction equally as gripping, but more thought provoking than their fiction counterparts.
With 1984 being one of my all-time favorite books, I dove back into some more classic reads, using Penguin’s ‘100 Must-Read Classic Books’ article for inspiration. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is now firmly a book I’d recommend to everyone. I found the differing writing style a new and unusual challenge. It is also interesting to compare books such as Fight Club with their modern film adaptations.
My journey back to books was not without its ups and downs. I suffered the heartbreaking loss of a 87 day reading streak, a statistic I had been ever so proud of. I also had books which I simply couldn’t get into due to writing style (I allowed myself to leave these unread). Some books I struggled to finish due to poor endings or dragging plotlines. I found this disheartening, but used it as a process of learning my preferred genres and authors.
I can now once again say I am a bookworm. I spend a large chunk of my spare time with a cup of tea and my latest read. Setting myself the achievable goal of twelve books initially helped with motivation. Since surpassing it, I no longer feel the need for a goal. Reading is a daily habit and now a hobby of mine once again. I read to learn or simply enjoy a story.
