The simple act of reading has become not so simple for me over the past few years.
Not because I don’t want to read…
Or because I don’t enjoy reading…
But because I’ve taken to choosing books to read for fun that aren’t actually fun…
But educational instead.
Not there’s something entirely wrong with that, but sometimes I just want to turn off my brain, stop thinking about seeds and soil and amendments and chickens and eggs and all.of.the.things that we’re doing every day or aiming to do eventually or working on slowly and incrementally.
Sometimes I’m even half tempted to purchase People Magazine while at the grocery store just so I can stare blankly at pages with words and not think about any of the things that run through my brain that need to be done.
Yeah…I haven’t done that in years, but trust me, it’s tempting!
And yet, when I sit down in front of our bookshelves, I pick books like The Resilient Farm and Homestead or Last Child in the Woods or The Long Summer or one of the Little House on the Prairie books or even Love is a Wild Assault, which isn’t directly related, but it’s still historical (and, by the way, is my favorite book of all time).
And so, the last time I set my mind to reading a book that would just be for fun, I gave myself permission to purchase one for myself and I searched for days before finally settling on The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert…
Which is actually about (among other things but mainly) Botany.
Do you see a theme here?
It’s a real problem.
Not that I’m not enjoying the book…I actually really, really, like it.
But what I need…
What I really need…
Is a good horror story (or something of the like) that I can enjoy but not think too hard about it. Well written, good characters, definitely not about botany or homesteading.
Geez…you’d think this was Rocket Science or something 😉
Wanna help me out of my rut?
Please tell me, what are your reading right now? Have any book recommendations that won’t require me to think (at least not too hard, anyway)?
xoxo,
M
Favourite classic: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Animal-oriented book: Call of the Wild by Jack London
Enjoyed in the past: the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (total escapism)
Recently best-seller: the Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Reading now: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
What a wonderful list! Thank you so much for all of these suggestions! I may have to start with the Outlander series since total escapism is totally what I’m after 🙂
I’m a total scifi geek so probably not in your wheelhouse. But I’ve found that I read those more serious books during the day if I read, but I always reserve a half an hour before bed for the fun books. It helps me turn my brain off at night so I can sleep.
Daphne recently posted…Harvest Monday, 21 September 2015
I like the idea of having a “thinking” book during the day and a “fun” book for night! I do enjoy scifi! Give me a recommendation or two and I’ll start a list to work from 🙂
My favorite book of all time, and which I think I will reread again for about the 5th time is “The Miracle Season” by Linda Cline. Frequently compared to “Watership Down” it’s much shorter.
From one of the reviews:
In the strikingly original tradition of Watership Down and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Linda Cline presents in THE MIRACLE SEASON a warm and estraordinary allegorical story of the conscious awakening of the Animal Kingdom to the dire threat to survival as man imposes the mounting tragedy of industrial civilization on the world’s natural environment. A feisty young crow with an overwhelming curiosity for life and a genius intelligence seeks out and communicates with his fellow wild creatures. Crow calls the thinkers together for a group entrancement session to solve the perplexing problem of the increasing death rate among birds and animals. Man is poisoning the natural environment and survival may become the exception instead of the rule. Crow preaches throughout the animal kingdom, travels the world for 7 years spreading the word. At first he is ridiculed, humiliated and ignored. Not until he changes from a radical preacher of doom to a storyteller, a singer, a poet, is his message finally heeded.
A delightful, whimsical story for the animal oriented person.
How fun, Marilee!!! Thank you for this, I’ll check it out 🙂