Back in January of 2019, I had made a promise to myself to read at least one book a month this year. As I am writing this I am proud to say that I have kept up with my new year’s goal! Reading is something I try to carve out time for no matter what now, even when I am up to my ears in work.
“But in reading great literature, I become a thousand men and yet remain myself”
C.S. Lewis
I came up with some clever tricks for meeting my goal even when I became super busy. For instance, I brought my books with me to work. During lunch, I would go to a nearby coffee shop, order a chai latte, put on my noise-canceling headphones, and read. Even if only for 30 minutes, it was a nice break from being on my work computer all day.
With this daily practice of reading for 30 minutes, I have noticed several positive changes in myself. Now that the year is coming to an end, I realize how much reading improved my attention span, my ability to empathize, to listen, and to put my own life in perspective. I even noticed my vocabulary expanded.
Reading shouldn’t be a ‘put off for later’ chore. It should be treated as the valuable hobby it is. (I hope by now I have convinced you to pick up books more often lol) I am already collecting my book list for 2020!
The last three books I read this year:
- The Dressmaker’s Gift
- Where the Crawdads Sing
- Empire of Storms
