I'd Rather Be Reading

After an incredibly long and frustrating reading rut, I finally broke through with a book I really enjoyed!

I was hesitant to read this book because I had read Anne Bogel's first book and didn't like it very much. But I was seeing a lot of people online raving about her new book, and I loved the cover so much, that I decided to give it a try anyway. The book is only 149 pages long so I figured I didn't have much to lose. I'm so glad I took a chance on this book because I loved it!

Right from the first chapter, I found myself nodding my head in agreement as the author discussed books we feel like we should read and the books we secretly love but are embarrassed to admit to. The first book that sprang to mind was War and Peace. I've tried to read it about three times now because it's a classic and I feel like I should appreciate the classics, plus I've always been curious about the book ever since I was a kid and I watched Happy New Year, Charlie Brown and his teacher assigned it to him for homework over Christmas break. But that book was so boring that my brain refused to retain even the most basic facts about the book. If anyone ever asks me to tell them about the plot, my response would go something like this, "Well, there was war. . . and then there was peace."

What I learned from trying to force myself to read that book three mind numbing times is that trying to force yourself to like a book you don't like is just like this:

It's like trying to drag a wheelie cart, loaded with a heavy burden, through the snow.  It's exhausting and a total waste of time. On this point Anne Bogel and I appear to be kindred spirits! We also agree that people should embrace reading books that we love but are embarrassed by. Like this book, for instance:

Yeah, that's right, I love a book called Separate Beds. The title alone makes me cringe. The plot sounds like it's straight out of an episode of Days of Our Lives. And the story is set in 1985 so there is actually a character in the book who wears a cinnamon colored tuxedo with an apricot colored shirt under it to his wedding. But I can't stop loving this book no matter how many flaws it may have. The heart wants what it wants. These things can't be helped.

There are so many wonderful parts of I'd Rather Be Reading that this would become the longest blog entry in history if I told you about them all. Suffice it to say, the book took me on a wonderful trip through my reading past, the good, the boring and the mortifying. And I loved ever minute of the journey!