“All The Light We Cannot See” … and all the cake we can eat.

May 21, 2018 No Comments

All the Light We Cannot See; why you should read this Pulitzer Prize winner

I’ve been reading All The Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr) for too many months to count now.But – I did it! I finished! I started it while administering math tests last fall, and it stayed in my school bag between those tests. Then it stayed in my school bag over winter break. And through several tests this spring.

It’s a freaking long book. (Over 500 pages. Which, ultimately, flew by as the story sucked me in!) What made me choose that one for a test proctoring book I’m not really sure, except for that I really wanted to read it. Or so I thought.

In any case, I recently decided I was going to make a conscious effort to read more after a pretty big reading rut. I wrote down a list of things to try in order to increase my productivity, and set a goal to get this bad boy read by May 18. My husband didn’t think I could do it. He made more than a few comments at night when I was watching Insta-stories instead of reading.

But I know the way I work. The pressure of that deadline looming is what makes things happen. And there was no way I was going to let myself miss out on my goal reward of Nothing Bundt Cake. (Sorry not sorry to those of you who play by the rules and don’t use food as a reward. I need a shirt that says “Will read for NBC.”)

*This “All the Light We Cannot See” post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from a link on this page, I’ll receive a small commission – at no extra cost to you! Click here to read my full statement.

All the Light We Cannot See; The Pulitzer Prize Winner you'll wish you'd read sooner

All The History We Cannot Forget

“All the Light We Cannot See” follows a French girl and a German boy as WWII begins, rages, and finally ends. It jumps back and forth both in time and between characters, and – once you get your bearings – sucks you in to the madness of the time period. I, like so many others, loved this book and the people in it. My knowledge of WWII is limited, but I can remember sitting in a college history class captivated by details I did not retain in high school.

Reading novels set in this time period is both eye opening and frightening. It is unnerving, especially when there are young German protagonists as in this novel, to think of how once good people – innocent young boys – were sucked into a war feeling as though they had little choice but to fight it. How easily, it seems, that so many were brainwashed. That even those with inner turmoil felt they had no choice but to comply.

Give Historical Fiction a Chance

If you are wary to read historical fiction (I was at one point in time), you should do yourself a favor and check this one out. I was worried that historical fiction novels would read like history books and be, well, boring. However what I’ve found is that they read like any other novel, but with an added layer of history and truth coupled with humanity that you do not get from a history text. Anthony Doerr devoted a decade of his life to writing the tale and was rewarded with a Pulitzer Prize.

This book made me feel, and it made me think. If you haven’t read it yet, I’ll conveniently place a nice icon that links right to Bookshop so you can start NOW. If you have read it, I hope you’ll hang around a minute and read my little one sided book club discussion! (And leave your responses in the comments? If you read my post about me falling off the reading wagon, you know my book club fizzled before it even started. Can we have a virtual club?) So, if you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?

All The Questions We Can Answer

I’ve never been part of a book club that did a discussion or structured reflection on a book, and I’m honestly not sure that I’d want to. I prefer some organic conversation if there is any to be had. I do see the value in the structured questions. If I’m being honest though, my personal need from a book club is just to get out of the house for a minute – not a time for serious reflection. But since I’m sitting here by myself writing, why not.

I found some reflection questions on the Simon & Schuster website after a quick Google search. There’s a total of 15, but I won’t type out responses to all of them. If there’s one on the list I don’t answer that you want to hear my answer for, drop it in the comments.

The narration moves back and forth both in time and between different characters. How did this affect your reading experience? How do you think the experience would have been different if the story had been told entirely in chronological order?

I’ve read a lot of books that jumped between different characters’ point of views (points of view? Is this like mothers-in-law?) between chapters. One that immediately comes to mind is The Help. This book also goes back and forth in time though, and for me, that aspect took a while longer to adjust to. As with most books of this style, I think it takes a few more chapters than normal to get engrossed by the story. It takes more chapters to develop each character. I think this was especially true in this case, because the characters’ stories do not begin with any overlap. This may be the reason that the book stayed in my school bag for so long. Perhaps if after 50 or so pages I was more attached to the people, I would’ve had a deeper desire to continue their stories outside of school.

However, once I was attached, I enjoyed the different perspectives. I figured out fairly early on how their stories would be entwined, and I was anxious to see how their steps led to one another. Since the two children were on opposing sides of the war, I thought the back and forth was very appropriate.

If the book had been in chronological order, I think it might have made it easier for me to “get into” the story faster. However, had it not jumped around in time, I feel like it would’ve lacked an element of suspense. Doerr left some great cliffhangers at the ends of sections. Without them, the story would not have invoked the feeling of needing to know a resolution. I do believe it would have been captivating, but ultimately, I enjoyed the setup.

Whose story did you enjoy the most? Was there any character you wanted more insight into?

I enjoyed Werner’s story line the most. To see the war from the eyes of a young German was one of the main reasons I loved this book. So often I, as an American, have heard of WWII through the lens of the Allies. This book, for me, did an excellent job of humanizing the German troops.

To think of the young boys thrust into war at the hands of adults they trusted is heartbreaking. To think of just how young they were when they began to become indoctrinated to the teachings of Hitler is maddening. The adults in this tale are just as vile as they ought to be, but the children are what make this rendering heart breaking on both sides. Doerr did an excellent job of laying a foundation that shows just how the boys were manipulated and made to feel that they had no choice but the one that was required.

I found myself wanting a little more of Mr. LeBlanc’s story after his arrest, though I understand that his story line no longer affected his daughter’s – except from her perspective. I also sometimes wished for a chapter through the eyes of Madame Manec. How terrifying and exhilarating it must’ve been to be a layperson fighting silently and secretly against the Germans.

Reread Madame Manec’s boiling frog analogy on page 284. Etienne later asks Marie-Laure, “Who was supposed to be the frog? Her? Or the Germans?” (page 328) Who did you think Madame Manec meant? Could it have been someone other than herself or the Germans? What does it say about Etienne that he doesn’t consider himself to be the frog?

When I read Madame Manec’s analogy I only considered that she was talking about the Germans. That the slow boiling of the soldiers that the women were beginning would cause disruption, nuisance, and if nothing else drive them mad. It was not until Etienne asked Marie-Laure that I even entertained the thought that it could have been herself.

I think that Etienne was so tortured internally that he did not “slowly boil” like Madame Manec and the others. I feel that when he did act, it was not the result of things wearing him down until he felt he must. Rather, it was the only choice he had left. He did not slowly resolve to go outside, he felt forced to when he feared his niece missing.

One of Werner’s bravest moments is when he confronts von Rumpel: “All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?” (page 465) Have you ever had a moment like that? Were you ready? What would you say that moment is for some of the other characters?

I have never been in a life or death position as Werner found himself, and I hope never to find myself there. Though perhaps an odd connection, I find that this quote speaks to me about being thrust into motherhood. Sure there are things you can do to prepare as best you can. But when it comes down to it, it’s sink or swim. I would not say I waited all my life to become a mom. Maybe several years of my adult life. But the sentiment still holds.

I think back to the first weeks of motherhood, and I can vividly remember thinking, “I’ve never ever done anything this hard.” I can’t even say now what felt so hard. Was it the lack of sleep? The incessant crying? (Both me and him!) The sheer horror of learning to breastfeed? (It did not “come easy” to me.) The feeling that I just wanted to enjoy my baby, but the reality was that I was there for the milk, and it was only others who got to “play” with him while I rested?

Maybe I was not “ready,” but I like to think that I got it together quickly enough.

Madame Manec wanted to live before she died. I think her “moment” was heading up the women’s rebellion. Etienne was tortured by the demons of the first war. I think his “moment” was proving he was able to care for Marie-Laure even though it meant opening the door to the world he feared. Volkheimer would have otherwise been a gentle giant and wanted to be understood. I think his moment was keeping quiet about Werner finding (and hiding) the location of the illegal broadcast.

Why do you think Marie-Laure gave Werner the little iron key? Why might Werner have gone back for the wooden house but left the Sea of Flames?

I’ll admit this part of the story caught me off guard. When he realized she gave him the key, I was confused as to why. Since he was not continuing on with her, maybe she thought he could hide out there. I think she gave Werner the iron key because she could tell that he was one of the ones who would’ve been able to resist the pull of the diamond. She was ready to rid herself of the diamond. I don’t know if she wanted him to have it as a token of her appreciation for saving her life or if she knew he would return and finish the job of letting it go. Perhaps she realized how important the model of the house itself would be to him. The radio in its attic clearly had a profound impact on his life.

Werner was good. He saw the good in others, and recognized when it was fading in himself. I believe he released the diamond because he clearly saw it was the will of its owner. He was done resisting doing the right thing. My thought is that he went back for the house so that he would have a token from the girl he hardly knew but loved nonetheless.

When Werner and Marie-Laure discuss the unknown fate of Captain Nemo at the end of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Marie-Laure suggests the open-endedness is intentional and meant to make us wonder (page 472). Are there any unanswered questions from this story that you think are meant to make us wonder?

There’s no doubt in my mind that the author left Mr. LeBlanc’s story line open-ended intentionally. He wrapped up the story lines of every other main character. We have enough knowledge of the time to know what his fate most likely was. But I think that he wanted us to be left with the same wonderment as Marie-Laure. We are all left with the question, “What if?” It allows us to be able to entertain the possibility that the good man was not executed or left to die. Doerr could easily have told Mr. LeBlanc’s story, but chose not to.

It is hard to imagine what it would be like to wait for someone to come home without knowing if they could actually come home. We are told that Marie-Laure carried an aversion to hearing lists of names read aloud into adulthood. The hope that he was alive, though potentially of some comfort, created an ongoing heartbreak for her as she waited for her father. Perhaps it is just better to know.

I would’ve liked to have known what happened to Hubert, the homeless man who gave Marie-LeBlanc the key to the grotto. I think he intentionally left this question unanswered to give us a glimpse of a strange experience that people of the time had. That one could simply disappear, and either no one knew why or no one would speak of why. This is not a normal occurrence for us, and it is a strange reality to consider. The fact that Hubert gave Marie-Laure the key also makes me wonder if he knew he was going to disappear.

What do you think of the author’s decision to flash forward at the end of the book? Did you like getting a peek into the future of some of these characters? Did anything surprise you?

I really enjoyed the decision to flash forward. I always find myself wondering at the end of a book what paths the characters take. It was nice to have closure to the book that I invested so much time in. (And I’m sure part of that closure was for the author!)

I felt like part of the reason Doerr decided to flash forward was to remind us that though the people moved on and returned to some semblance of a normal life, the war never left them. The events of the war changed them in a profound way that continued to affect their lives. I found it especially interesting how Jutta was always aware of, and uncomfortable with, her German-ness. She was not on the front lines, but the guilt of the crimes of her people stayed with her always.

Marie-Laure’s relationship status surprised me. In my mind, she was a type to keep people she loved close with a small inner circle. To find that she ended up as a single parent was definitely not what I expected from her character.

And Now, All the Cake.

I finished the book. I earned my cake. Now I just have to go get it. It’s about a 30 minute (oh so worth it) trek to Nothing Bundt Cakes, so I’ve got to find a chunk of time to get out there. Why do they have to close at 6:00 though!? I’ll be getting a white chocolate raspberry cake. What’s your favorite? I love them all, but that one … takes the cake.

All I’ve got to do now is figure out what’s up next. I am considering either choosing a book from a list I pinned of funny books to read or Norm Macdonald’s Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir (on recommendation from my husband and also because the man cracks me up). Let me know if you’ve got a recommendation for a light or funny read after this heavy pick!

Books

10 More Books to Add to your POPSUGAR Book Challenge

May 14, 2018 No Comments

Guest post by Kyle

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Reading Challenge: Round 3

The POPSUGAR book challenge continues! If you haven’t started yet, get busy! I have read a lot of good books, a couple of not-so-great books, and a few that will go down on my “all-time” list. Additionally, I have read several books that I wouldn’t have otherwise undertaken (and most have been worth the while).

For those of you completely unfamiliar with the POPSUGAR challenge, it’s a list of prompts to fulfill instead of a traditional reading list. If you missed my first post of the series, here are the books I chose for prompts 1-10. If you missed the first post, then you probably missed the second post as well. Here are my picks for prompts 11-20 from the 2018 list.

Now for the good stuff. These are my picks for prompts 21-30:

21. A book with your favorite color in the title

I like colors, but it’s hard for me to say I have a favorite color. Initially, I chose Harold and the Purple Crayon (Crockett Johnson). Purple is a school color for both undergraduate universities I attended (Stephen F. Austin and Tarleton State). Also, a children’s book that I could read with my oldest son would be an easy win for the book challenge. But, the more I saw the book on my list, the more I decided against it. Purple isn’t my favorite color.

As I continued thinking about my favorite color, I was trying to think of “favorite” in some sort of context. In the context of shoes, my favorite color is white (with a little bit of black). I couldn’t find any suitable books with “white with a little black” in the title. In the context of clothing, I think my favorite color is gray. However, I live in America where gray is spelled with an “a” and not an “e” so Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James) was out!

Finally, I decided to go with how I would have answered the “what’s your favorite color” question as a child: blue. A Spool of Blue Thread (Anne Tyler) follows the Whitshank family through four generations of happiness and dysfunction. So, it’s not just us? Good.

22. A book with alliteration in the title

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) is the first result on the Goodreads Alliteration in Book Titles thread. Number three on that list is Sense and Sensibility. So, Jane Austen is the alliteration master. The story of Elizabeth Bennett and her relationship with Mr. Darcy, this book covers manners, upbringing, and marriage and family in 19th century England.

One of the most interesting tidbits I picked up after reading the book is that its working title was First Impressions, which is a very fitting title. I don’t know if I’ll move on to another Austen book, but she does have a very distinctive style of writing that I find interesting.

23. A book about time travel

The book I originally selected for this prompt was moved to a harder-to-satisfy prompt that will be covered in a future post. When I moved that book, I had to find another to satisfy this prompt. I have seen the movie adaption, so The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) fits in with my M.O. But I didn’t really enjoy the movie, so I didn’t have a lot of confidence that I would enjoy the book.

The next book I considered was 11.22.63 (Stephen King), but I am also reading the Bill Hodges trilogy (unrelated to this reading challenge) and I didn’t want to add on another lengthy Stephen King novel.

This will be my only re-read for this year’s book challenge. Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) was the first book I read by this author and for a while, I would’ve considered it to be among my favorite books. Billy Pilgrim is the protagonist of this anti-war classic. After surviving the bombing of Dresden, Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time, traveling back and forth, visiting the events of his life repeatedly.

24. A book with a weather element in the title

A children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame) is the story of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Mr. Toad who set forth on exciting adventures and misadventures. Whether on the river, in the Wild Wood, or at Toad Hall, this story involves boats, stolen automobiles, a prison break, and a siege of Mr. Toad’s own residence. So, if you’ve never read this classic, this prompt is the perfect excuse!

25. A book set at sea

My son and I are big fans of Pippi Longstocking. When I saw this prompt, I knew that Pippi in the South Seas (Astrid Lindgren) would be perfect! Unfortunately, while the characters do take a ship to an island, I couldn’t even talk myself into letting this book count for this prompt. So, while I do strongly recommend all things Pippi, I had to find something else for the book challenge.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to look far. One of the other reading lists I keep are Goodreads Choice Award winners. I don’t intend to read every award winner, but I do make note of the winners that seem interesting. One of these winners from 2015 is Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (Erik Larson). Some of you probably learned about the Lusitania in the context of pulling America into World War I, but Larson’s research provides a much more accurate portrayal of the impact of the ship’s sinking (100+ year old spoiler). Additionally, Larson uses the passengers own words (through letters, telegrams, diaries, etc.) to tell the story with more emotion and from a different perspective than you get in a history class.

26. A book with an animal in the title

Let’s be honest. The third Millennium book was going to be a part of this book challenge. It could have fit in a number of prompts, but since this prompt was specific, I went with it. The hornet of genus vespa, class insecta, kingdom animalia might not be high on the list of things that you think of when you hear the word animal, but that’s not the point.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Stieg Larsson) was translated from the original Swedish title Luftslottet som Sprängdes, which literally translates to The Air Castle that was Blown Up. As I am writing this, I’m only about halfway through the book, so while I can’t be 100% sure, I think it is metaphorical. I’ll update this post if an actual air castle shows up in that last half of the book and gets blown up.

This installment of the Millennium series finds Lisbeth Salander recovering from the events of the last novel, while Mikael Blomkvist works to prove her innocence. Additionally, Salander plots her revenge against the people who tried to destroy her life: a father who tried to have her killed and a corrupt government entity trying to protect her father.

Interestingly, Stieg Larson died before his books were published, so this was supposed to be the final book of the series. However, David Lagercrantz has released two additional books to make five total for the series.

27. A book set on a different planet

With some prompts, you just know what you’re going to read. I’m sure there are many books set on different planets. But how many of them have just been adapted into blockbuster feature films? The Martian (Andy Weir). That’s it.

Mark Watney is fatally injured during an emergency abort of the latest manned mission to Mars. Or so thought his crew. He survives. He is isolated (the only person on the planet) and he can’t communicate with his crew aboard the Hermes or with NASA back on Earth. The odds are against him in a hostile environment and only his resourcefulness to keep him alive.

28. A book with song lyrics in the title

I cheated on this one. There is no way to deny it. But, I’m in control. I decide what works and what doesn’t work. When you do your book challenge, you’re in charge and you don’t have to answer to anyone!

I think the purpose of this prompt is to find a book that has a song lyric in the title with the implication that the song existed first. I went the other way. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Truman Capote) came well before the Deep Blue Something song was released in the mid-1990s. Who cares? I don’t.

I had never read the story of Holly Golightly, so it was interesting to read the story that produced the familiar name. Also, this edition contains three highly-praised short stories, so be sure to read them too.

29. A book about or set on Halloween

My middle child loves Halloween. He loves wearing his “pumpkin shirt” year-round. He even asked for a Halloween-themed birthday party when he turned three (read about it here)! So this prompt excited me because I knew I could pick a children’s book and read it with him. While I have no problem incorporating children’s books into the book challenge, I don’t use board books or picture books. Those are the books he loves, so I wanted to find a “longer” book to read with him, but decided that we would also read some of his Halloween favorites as well.

Lucy’s Tricks and Treats (Ilene Cooper) is what was available on Overdrive. There was another book that was available, but only in PDF format, so we skipped it. This book is about Bobby and his beagle puppy, Lucy as they prepare for Halloween. It ended up being tough to keep the little fella’s attention with this book, so we also read his go-to Halloween book, Splat the Cat: What was That?

30. A book with characters who are twins

Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese) is the story of Marion and Shiva stone, twin brothers orphaned by their mother’s death during childbirth and abandonment by their father. Growing up in Addis Ababa (my second favorite world capital – Djibouti’s #1, if you’re wondering), as Ethiopia moves toward revolution, the brothers are torn apart by their love for the same woman. Marion moves to New York City and has a chance encounter with the father that abandoned him as an infant, the world-renowned surgeon Thomas Stone.

What’s on Your Book Challenge?

Have you started the POPSUGAR book challenge? What did you choose for these prompts? Do any of these books interest you? Tell me what you’ve read and what you enjoyed. Even if you’re not taking part in the challenge, I still want to know what books you recommend. Maybe I can use them in the future!

Still trying to decide? Don’t forget to check out my picks for the first 10 prompts for more inspiration!

My Pick:

Here’s @oscarshead with my favorite book out of this set of prompts.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (Erik Larson)

Books, Freebies

Tips to Read More Often and Create a Reading Habit

May 7, 2018 No Comments

You’ve probably heard me talk about how much my family enjoys reading. Funny thing is though, my husband thinks I’m a big hypocrite! Any time I say something about liking reading, he responds with something like, “Yeah… you say that…” And he’s not wrong. I do not make time to read at all lately. Summer is coming, and I’ve been reading the same book while proctoring both fall and spring final exams this school year. Time to knock this sucker out and get my reading mojo back.

Last year, I tried to start a book club, but it turned into my sister and I reading a book and meeting up with maybe one other person for dinner once a month. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it turns out, I don’t really know people who want to join a book club! Thinking back on that time though, even the illusion that I was in a book club had me reading way more than the previous months. Or years. But who’s counting? While I do wish we’d kept the dinner club going, at some point I lost the motivation to read that was sparked by the book club.

My husband assumes I just don’t like the book I’m currently plodding through, or clearly I would’ve finished it. But that honestly isn’t it. Truth is, I have no idea why I can’t just make myself read at night. I don’t really have that much to be stressed about, but at the end of the day a lot of times I just want to sit and do nothing. How is reading any more stressful than scrolling Twitter and Instagram though? These days it seems like my Twitter feed just sends me into an internal emotional frenzy, so maybe reading would be the better option for my sanity anyway!

*This post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from a link on this page, I’ll receive a small commission – at no extra cost to you! Click here to read my full statement.

Getting Started

The last time I was reading consistently, I was a participant in an imaginary book club. I don’t think that will work this time, because at least back then it was like, “Oh… she just already read this book, she’ll do it next month.” Or, “She had something going on already for this dinner, but it’ll work out next month.” I was so naive. Now, I’m pretty sure people just don’t want to do it.

Since I can’t use the same strategy to get me going, it’s going to take some creativity. If you’re wondering why I can’t just… decide to read more and do it… I don’t know. I don’t have that kind of personality type. If I’m going to change a habit there’s got to be actionable steps. I’ve got a few ideas of things to try, and I’ll update you in a few weeks to see if it worked out for me.

Picking a Book

Since I’m already partially into a book, I know what I’ll be reading first. But once this one is done, I’d prefer not to have to mindlessly scroll through the Overdrive library app for a book to pick. I never knew I liked historical fiction, but I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society* and found that there was something about the genre that I never knew I was missing. I think I liked it so much because it reads like a novel, but the events of the period are rooted in truth. There were times I found myself looking up some of the “facts” to see if they were in fact, factual. Reading an engrossing story while being catapulted back in time is pretty cool. *Update: I found out very shortly after publishing this post that this book is being turned into a movie on Netflix. If that’s not motivation to get on with reading it, I don’t know what is!

My current read is All The Light We Cannot See. It’s another from the genre of historical fiction, and I’m reading it on recommendations from my husband, mom, and nearly 28,000 Amazon reviewers. It’s a ‘jumpy’ book going back and forth between perspectives and points in time. The book is set in France and Germany during WWII, following two young people from very different backgrounds who – I’m assuming – join paths. Otherwise it’ll just be a weird disjointed tale of two kids. (Update: I finished it, and yes – I wrote a post about it!)

My plan from here though is blank. Here’s what I’m considering:

Join Kyle in the Popsugar Reading Challenge. It’s a list of prompts/categories instead of a straight “books to read” list. It allows you some freedom of choice while narrowing down the playing field. I don’t know that I’d choose the same books as him for every prompt, but there are a few on his reviews that sound like they’d be up my alley. You can view his picks for prompts 1-10 and 11-20 if you’re interested in some inspiration!
Utilize the Pinterest board I’ve been compiling! I have pinned lots of great book list pins. After my WWII experience ends, I’m thinking I may choose one of the books from the “18 Funny Novels” pin. There’s very little that’s funny about WWII, so I’ll be ready for a change.
Pick something from my bookshelf. We got rid of nearly all of our books when we read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up a few years ago, but I’ve picked up a few along the way. In an effort to clean the shelves again, I should probably read a few we already have!

Creating a Reading Habit

When I was reading a lot last year, I did a large portion of my reading on my Kindle app while rocking my newborn. (Yes, I rocked my newborn through his whole nap! He’s my last baby, and I was soaking it in. I also picked him up when he cried. And also he’s fine!) Anyway, I was able to put back quite a few e-books in that rocking chair. But now I only rock him for about 15 minutes, so it’s not really a great reading time. I suppose I could knock out a chapter per sitting though, so maybe I could try this again.

Not all of the books I read at that time were online though. I somehow created a habit of reading at night after the kids went down. Right now, I don’t even know what I do when the kids go down. It’s definitely not laundry. It’s probably Instagram.

My husband has a pretty impressive reading rate. We have family members who get his Goodreads updates, and I’ve heard people ask him if his Goodreads account is accurate before. When people ask how he reads so much, I tell them to think about all of the time they spend on social media. Replace all that Facebook time with book time, and you might have yourself a significant chunk of reading time! He also listens to audio books around the house. I’m not sure that I’m going to go there – I don’t focus well enough for that! I’d feel like I needed to constantly rewind to be able to understand what was going on.

So how am I going to break my social media habit and replace it with reading? Good question.

Replace a social media app shortcut with my Kindle app shortcut on my home screen. When I’m bored, relaxing, or whatever, I mindlessly scroll to a social media app. Perhaps I can trick myself to click on that Kindle app if it’s sitting in the place where I automatically swipe to! The negative for this idea is that it will clearly only help me get back on track for e-books. And I will probably know where I moved the Instagram icon.
Start my habit tracker back up in my bullet journal. I used to use a habit tracker religiously when I started my bullet journal. Then I kind of got burned out on it and ended up with several blank habit trackers in a row and quit even putting in the template. I might need to habit track using my habit tracker. Anyway, if I start that back up, then I’d put like “read 30 minutes” for one of the daily tracking items. If you don’t have a bullet journal, I’ve created a printable tracker for you that you can print off! It’s a tri-fold, so it can double as a bookmark. Score!

Download

Just put down my phone. I spend too much time on my phone. I’m trying to figure out a realistic “rule” for cutting down on my usage. I don’t want to lock it in a room or anything, because I don’t mind texting etc. and don’t really want to miss on messages if they come in. My problem is just if it’s always right next to me, then I grab it when I’m ready for something to do. I’m thinking my general guideline will be that instead of carrying it to wherever I am, I will make a point to put it on the kitchen counter. (Sound on, so I can hear a call/text!) Is it ridiculous to have to do this? Maybe. But hey, at least I’m trying to change!!

Make It Social

This is both the reason I succeeded and the reason I failed the last time I was reading regularly. I succeeded because I was excited about having someone to talk to about the book… (and an excuse to get out of the house every once in a while…) I failed because I assumed other people would also be really into the idea – and it just wasn’t true. This time I am going to approach it differently.

Join an online community. I’m not planning on searching for like a virtual book club with meetings or anything, but I know there are groups out there who are recommending, reading, and talking about books. I follow a few “bookstagram-ers,” so I may just jump in with one of their groups/blogs. There’s threads out there on Reddit discussing books, which honestly may be enough of an online book club experience for me. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the same people I talk to every time!
Talk to the friends I invited to book club with me last time and reach out to new friends. I know that the last book club fizzled, but we are all at different stages of life than we were last time. I no longer have a newborn. Everyone’s kids are growing up and becoming more self-sufficient. Perhaps the involvement would be different this time. Is that just me being an idealist? I also have a few new acquaintances that may be into it, so there may be room to start it up again. However, I’ve got a more realistic expectation this go ’round. If nobody sounds excited, I won’t try to force it!

Set A Goal

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself “goal oriented.” But I am “deadline oriented.” Which is a churched up way to say I don’t do things until I have to. I think if I set some sort of deadline for myself that I must finish All the Light by, then I just might be able to make it happen. How on Earth though do I enforce a self-imposed deadline?? Is that even a real thing? I do work well under pressure, but that pressure is usually from an outside force. I think I can figure it out.

Maybe I’ll write it in pen in my bullet journal, so that I have to scratch it out and forever have a record if I fail to meet the goal. That sounds like a pretty lame punishment. I’m honestly like, really okay with scratching stuff out in my journal. Unfazed.

Perhaps a reward will work better? Finish the book by May 18, and I get to treat myself to a Nothing Bundt Cake? Okay. Fine. We’ll do that one.

Summer Reading Challenge for Kids

April 16, 2018 No Comments

Summer reading challenge for kids

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Why Take A Reading Challenge?

When I was young, I was a reader. I was one of those kids who always had my head in a book. (Usually from the Thoroughbred series or a Goosebumps book!) Somewhere along the way around junior high or high school, I lost my need to read for pleasure. I didn’t stop liking reading, but it just quit being something I did for fun. Maybe I had myself too busy with extra-curricular activities. Perhaps it was that all of my reading energy was used up for books I had to read for school. I finally got that joy of reading back in college, and though I’m not as consistent as I’d like, I still read for pleasure now.

My kids love reading, and we have books all over the house. Literally. We also try to take somewhat regular trips to the library to mix it up a bit. I want them to continue to view reading as a fun activity as they grow. Though they haven’t lost their joy yet, I started to brainstorm ways that I can make (and keep) reading fun for them. It’s also easy to get caught up in the summer shuffle and fall down on our daily summer reading. I don’t think there’s a chance they’d go to bed without a story, but I love sitting down with them during the day for a quiet minute too! (2020 update: My son has started a book club! Read about it here!)

My husband is a reading challenge guy. He currently has at least 3 different lists/challenges he is working on. Some are to complete in a short period of time (like the Popsugar one he wrote about earlier!) Others are “lifetime” lists like Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, and his personal challenge to read nonfiction books with protagonists from each country of the world. The boys hear him talk about his reading challenges, so it seemed natural to create one for them!

Summer Reading Fun

There’s lots of different types of reading challenges out there. Some are lists of books to read. Others are categories to choose from. There’s also some fun reading “task” challenges (for example: read a book outside). I asked for Kyle’s help creating our personal summer reading challenge, and we went with a topis/categories challenge.

Our intent is to let the boys choose an item from the list, and take them to the library to find a book that fits the criterion. Does anybody else get so tired of your kids’ personal book collection? I swear it’s like we have a library of our own here, but sometimes I just can’t pick anything I want to read again. We chose to include 22 topics, which averages to 2 books per week of my kids’ summer vacation. This seems like a super manageable number considering that most of the books they will pick will be books we can read in one sitting! If you’ve got an older kid reading longer books you can still join in. Make it a challenge for the rest of the year, or just pick a reasonable number of items from the list together.

I am hoping it will be fun for them. If it turns out they view it as a chore then we’ll table it. But I really don’t see that happening with them.

Join In!

The graphic at the top of the post has all of our challenge items so you can join in. Click the image below to sign up to receive a free .pdf tracking sheet straight to your inbox. This way you can have something to print off and take with you to the library to check off! Update: If you’d rather just purchase books, consider doing it from Bookshop! A percentage of every purchase with Bookshop goes to support independent bookstores. Pretty cool! You can read more about it in this post! Also, feel free to join our Summer Reading Challenge group on Facebook to share all of your picks and see what everyone else is reading!

If you’re looking for more summer fun, be sure to check out these posts:

Book Club for Kids: 5 Tips to Get Started

Park Scavenger Hunt

How to Start a Butterfly Garden

And if you want to be sure to check all of our fun family ideas, sign up for my mailing list!!

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