A Reading Complex

I didn’t read much as a kid and until shit went down with JK Rowling, I’d always been a bit embarrassed that I’ve never even read Harry Potter. The only series of books I’ve read that gave me that “not able to put down” feeling was the Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging series - and I’d actually read it before the film came out (and then fell in love with SG Aaron Johnson when the film did eventually come out). I actually ended up developing a bit of a complex about reading - feeling like the fact that I found it so hard to finish a book made me less smart. I once featured "watching TV" as a hobby on my CV and was told that this wasn’t something to be proud of… but I love watching TV, it makes me feel at home and has actually taught me a heck of a lot. It was my main source of storytelling as a kid. 

A couple of years ago, I made a discovery… I actually do like to read but I can’t stick to one book at a time. I’ve tried and it makes me resent doing it, like it’s a chore. I relieved the pressure on myself and discovered that the way I like to read is to have about 10 books on the go at once. I’m pretty impressed that I’m usually able to remember what the last chapter was about - even if I haven’t picked it up in months. It might take me a year to finish one of them (or longer) but it’s what works for me. I’m still trying to figure out what genre I like most… honestly, I quit Wuthering Heights 90% in because I had no fucking idea what was going on and got sick of checking SparkNotes after every chapter - it feels a shame not to finish that last 10% but perhaps I’ll watch the film and then go back and finish it but I won’t hold myself to that! I think the genre for me at the moment is Young Adult Fantasy… which again might feel a bit embarrassing as a 29 year old but I love magic and witches and I find YA easy to read and follow. Since I’ve accepted this (woohoo another step in connecting to my authentic self) I’ve been reading a lot more frequently and it’s fun!

A big part of me getting to the point of publishing this blog was through reading, listening and watching the stories and lessons from others. So I’m going to keep this site updated with any sources, books, TV and films that have inspired me, my writing and my life. This page will be dedicated to books. Truth is that I might not yet have finished all of the books… but I’ve definitely started and they will be in my "currently reading" pile. They might seem pretty random as I start to figure out what I like and don’t like but I’m just following my intuition and what speaks to me. I have vague ambitions to write a bit of a review / summary / lessons learnt from each of these books too but this article has been sat on my laptop again for over 6 months and it’s the message that counts here; don’t be embarrassed about how little you’ve read, what you read and work to realise that reading can and should be fun!