R is for...READING

I have wholeheartedly rediscovered my love of reading in the past 6 months or so and get so excited that I usually have 3-4 books going at once.  It all began when I picked up a book that was 1/2 price at Borders called A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson.  I thought the topic sounded good, but really didn't have any idea about what I was getting into.  I just wanted a book that was affordable, portable (I take it with me in my bag) and that sounded interesting...and any outdoor/hiking type book made the list! Turns out, it was a fun read...informative and humorous at times, too!  It was about a man's attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, and since reading it, my interest and desire to hike parts of the trail was piqued! From there, my sister passed along her copy of Eat, Pray, Love telling me I'd enjoy it...and I did.  When I finally had a chance to see the movie, it paled in comparison.  These 2 books were a turning point for me since my usual genre of reading material is self-help.  I figured if I was going to take time to read, it should really be something that could "help" me out.  The funny thing is, reading for pleasure is helping me immensely. It calms me, relaxes me, broadens my knowledge in many areas and has sparked new dreams and desires.  Since reading these 2 books, I've picked up a couple of more fiction based books and am enjoying them completely.  That doesn't mean that I've given up my self-help list of books on my "to read" list...it just means that I've widened my circle of interest.  To keep track of all of the books that are of interest to me, I've recently discovered Goodreads.  Here I can not only keep track of the books I want to read, and have read already, but I can also look up reviews for books that interest me and leave reviews for the books I've read.  Goodreads is a great resource worth checking out if you share a love of reading like I do.

Have a wonderful day...and don't forget to pick up a book!!