I Do Hereby Declare: Reading Shall Be Fun Again!

Everyone has hobbies. Mine include going to wine tastings, licking the bowl when I make brownies, hiking, blowing raspberries on my kids’ tummies, and reading. And while most of those continue to leave me feeling joyful, rejuvenated, and fulfilled, reading has really been a drag lately! What used to be a source of pleasure, education, escapism, or encouragement has been a wearisome chore.

In the past couple of months I’ve suffered through the likes of:

• Olive Kitteridge, a story in which 13 unrelated people tell brief stories in which a grouchy old woman plays a role of varying significance. This would be like my mother, my second grade teacher, the cashier at the WalMart where I grocery shop, Joel, my dental hygienist, and one of my coworkers telling boring stories about their lives, in which I randomly appear at occasional intervals. The nap is free with purchase of the book, but the pillow is not included.

• The Monster of Florence, the true story of the investigation of a serial killer in Florence, Italy. I never did finish it, so I’m not sure how it ended. I think this could make an interesting novel, but the book read like a really, really, REALLY long Newsweek article in which every player has a similar-sounding Italian name. On the upside, I learned a valuable lesson: don’t try to get it on in a parked car in the Florentine countryside.

• Oliver Twist is a classic, I’m sure. I bet I would have really grown as a reader and appreciated the genius of Dickens had I got past the first chapter. But I just can’t take that stress in my life right now. I have a full-time job, two kids, and a house to maintain. And I already earned my Honors English credits at UofA to prove that I no longer have to work that hard on a book if I don’t want to.

• Freedom, the crazy-popular book that everyone is talking about right now. I’ve even heard it referred to as “The Great American Novel”. Maybe the second half of the book was better than the first half. I didn’t stick with it to find out. I decided if there were 283 people waiting for this book at the library, I wasn’t going to stand in their way of reading it for another moment. I’m sure there are a lot of symbols in the book…allegories for the hollowness of life in America, or some such nonsense. From what I could gather, it was the story of an unhappy woman, and a few pointless things she tried to do to be a little happier. I don’t mind a good character study, but I prefer to have a character I can either identify with or root for on her quest for growth. Not surprisingly, though, when a person lives her life with herself as the focus, instead of God, she is unhappy and unfulfilled.

Well I’ve had enough! There was a time when I’d stay up hours past my bedtime, because I couldn’t stand to put a book down! I would be so engrossed in the lives of the characters that I would spend days in a lonely state of depression, mourning the companions I had lost when I turned the final page. I relished page after page of the voluminous Outlander series and am eagerly awaiting the eighth installment of the series. I still remember sitting on the couch at 3 in the morning, weeping for the fallen Dumbledore! When was the last time I’ve sat in bed, either giggling or sobbing because a book has drilled into my emotions? It’s been too long since I’ve called my mom in the morning and practically screamed into the phone “You HAVE to read this!”

So I’m taking a stand. For the remainder of the year, and perhaps longer…for as long as I feel like it, darn it… I shall only read books for the pure, untainted, ever-lovin’ fun of it. Yes, I’m sorry my dear book club friends, but that means I will not be reading November’s selection. It just doesn’t look that fun. (I won't let that stop me from coming to our meeting though!) Besides, I’ll be too engrossed catching up on the complete works of Francine Rivers, a favorite and long-forgotten author. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed one of her books, but she is an author that can really touch my heart. Her books might not be hoity-toity, Pulitzer Prize winning, NYT best-selling tomes that set the literary community abuzz. But they are FUN.

Check back soon for a review, and if you have a suggestion for a GREAT book, then please…. I’m begging you! Tell me about it!