In my recent plea for help with writer’s block, Angel said she likes to read about what people are reading. Herein lies my conundrum.

Growing up I was often encouraged to put down my book and go outside. Yeah, you heard that right. The powers-that-be felt that I read a little too much and needed some fresh air and outdoor time. I was a voracious reader and continued to be up until the time I had my second child. Now, not so much.

For a while after Olivia and John came along, I switched from the fiction I loved to non-fiction, spending my time reading books about parenting and homeschooling. These days I am reading those less and less as well. I am not quite sure what is wrong. I have been trying to put my finger on it, because I know reading is good for me and something I have always loved so much. I even majored in English Literature!

I think one of the biggest problems is that I need uninterrupted time to read. Going from fiction to non-fiction was a direct result of a lack of uninterrupted time. With a novel you can’t really look up every few minutes or answer the “mom” call with great frequency and still be able to follow the story. Non-fiction is a little easier because topics are typically broken down and organized by sub-heading. Of course that doesn’t explain why I don’t read in the evenings while the kids are in bed. I have an answer for that one too — by that time of day, I am so brain dead it is hard to follow any kind of plot-line.

Then there is the whole “the Internet is killing our attention span theory.” I do think there is something to that. Small bits of information are so much easier to digest. It’s a vicious circle. I can handle the limited amounts of info with my limited brain power, but the more I indulge in the small-bite method of reading and gathering, the less apt I am to break free of the cycle.

So what’s a girl to do? I think some goal setting is in order, but I refuse to set myself up for failure (being a perfectionist as soon as I fail, I just quit trying). So the whole “52 Books in 52 Weeks” thing is totally out. Ideally I would like to set aside the last 45 minutes before bedtime and keep everything other than books off-limits. That’s just too confining for me though — sometimes my favorite TV runs late.

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So my goal, I think, will be to sit and read fiction for at least 30 minutes a day — some of that time preferably when my kids can see me doing it. With a real book whenever I can swing it, not just an eReader. That’s another post, but I am not sure the kids realize that I am doing anything other than playing Angry Birds when I have an iDevice in front of my face. I have access to many more books via the Nook and iPod, but I hope to swing a trip to the library alone every now and again.

As for selections, I think I am going to start with some easy, old favorites and then transition into something high interest. I still haven’t read The Hunger Games Trilogy, and I’ve been told they’re pretty high interest. 😉 From there maybe some Downton Abbey-inspired books, including Edith Warton’s The Buccaneers. Of course there will be new books out by some of my favorite authors including A Night Like This, Julia Quinn’s latest Regency romance and the next installment of The Outlander series. (Yes, I read some of the fluffier books at times.) The new JK Rowling, The Casual Vacancy, looks intriguing as well.

Really, I have no excuse. Be sure to ask me how I’m doing.

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