March Reading Challenge Update....
Well.... This is it for March:
Read a Book That's Guarenteed to Bring You Joy ~ 3-7-16: The Beatles: A Hard Day's Write by Steve Turner (I found out I have two copies of this book. The one on the right is an earlier edition. I read the one on the left all the way through since it is the later edition and had more content that the one on the right.)
I chose this book for this category because I love The Beatles and thought I'd love reading all about them. Instead, I found myself a little depressed reading the behind-the-scenes about every single one of their songs. The were so nit-picky with each other and often times harsh in their criticisms of each other - especially John towards Paul. George also complained about not getting the time of day for his songs when he had Lennon/McCartney to compete with. So the book didn't really bring me joy... but the songs, no matter what the story behind them is, continue to brighten my days and bring me joy!
So why haven't I been keeping up with this challenge this year? Here are some reasons:
1.) Nausea. I have felt so ill in the mornings this past month so sitting and reading hasn't really brought me much comfort. Plus, I associate my feelings with what I'm reading. So if I'm feeling sick while I'm reading a book, I associate reading that book with feeling sick and since I don't want to feel sick, I don't read the book.... following? Thankfully, nausea is starting to subside so hopefully I can sit and read more this month.
2.) Master's Project. My brain time has been centered on reading, Reading, READING article after article and book after book and website after website all about my Master's project topic: the arts. It's a fun topic but there's a lot of ground to cover to get the ball rollign with my writing. I'm proud of myself though - today is Saturday and I have spent the past four hours WRITING. I've got six pages of my Chapter Two written. Chapter Two will be upwards of 30 pages when I'm done... Gotta start somewhere! So really, reading for enjoyment has to take a back seat to reading so I can finish this project, graduate, and not pay astronomical funds for college tuition any more!
3.) Netflix. As I've mentioned, I set up a work out routine for myself last year and that is carrying over to this year. With the time and change and it being so dark in the mornings, I've been riding my stationary bike to get my exercise. Sometimes I read while I bike but lately, I've just been watching Netflix. I watched through "Cupcake Wars" and am now watching "Malcolm in the Middle" because Jeff and I are also watching "Breaking Bad" in the evenings and Bryan Cranston is cool. So I blame Netflix for warping my brain in the mornings and evenings...!
4.) Pacing Myself. There are two books I am reading right now but am pacing myself for - "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp and "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. The first I am reading with the Children's Ministry team. We read two chapters a month and since I have a lot going on anyway, two chapters is enough. I could probably breeze through the book - it is very captivating and the narrative is very easy to follow. But the content is rough. I made the mistake of reading the first two chapters during my morning exercise on the bike and had a hard time breathing because I was trying to hold back sobs - yes, sobs! So far it's a very moving book. And the second is a self-help book and it's chunked by month anyway. So I'm reading one (LONG) chapter a month and I'm okay with that. Also, I am still reading aloud to Audrey. We are working through "Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Clearly. We have two more chapters left. I read those chapters to her on my bedtime routine nights, which is every other night. But on sometimes, we get home late and have to skip our reading time. Such is life!
5.) Interest. I've had a huge pile of books on my bookshelf from last year and decided that those books need to be the first ones I read. The Beatles one above was one of them and now I am slowly working my way through "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. I haven't fully gotten into this book, mainly because of #1 listed above - thinking about reading it triggers feelings of nausea. Remember, it's not a bad book, I just have those weird associations with my morning sickness and reading. So it's hard to set a goal and read these books when I don't necessarily feel interested in them from the start. But power through I must and power through I will!
All this is to say that I am definitely READING. I'm just straying off the topics from the Reading Challenge a tad while I finish up my Master's Project. And that's OK.