Book Amnesia, Part 2

I recently blogged about my book amnesia and some of the strategies I was going to try. Since this happens to be a snow day where reading is a wonderful snowed in activity, I decided to update. I’ve definitely been reading less and I’ve been reading slower. Instead of staying up until 11 to finish a book, I turn off the light at 9:30 and reassure myself that a book thief will not come during the night. This also makes getting up in the morning easier, by the way!
The log of books I LOVE?

Not so much. When I was in college I took a fictional reading class. What could be better than reading books for credit? Except we didn’t just read them, we analyzed them. We critiqued them. We took all the symbolisms out of them and debated what the different colors in the kitchen meant. By the end, I was cursed! I couldn’t pick up a book to read on my own without reflecting on and analyzing characters motivations, author’s choice for setting and all those grand things. After a few months, this instinct (thankfully) faded. I was back to enjoying books for being books. Do I still sometimes wonder these things or make connections in the stories I read? Of course, but it no longer feels like a chore.

 That’s what creating a list of books I LOVE became. One more thing to do. It might have been easier if I make it less important: just an excel spreadsheet with the date, author and title. And if I want to know more or refresh my mind I can look up the book and read a summary. I know, I know, the lazy man’s way out. But for me reading is a way to relax, it’s for pleasure. If I start assigning work to it, I just ignore the work because I know that’s just the crazy me talking. But there are some books I do want to share on this blog so maybe I’ll limit my analysis and work to books I really, really love that could also be used in the classroom. And then I’ll just post a summary of them to this blog (it will also help me to get back to blogging about great books!).

On a totally unrelated note, I think this snow day is making me a little stir crazy. Being inside all day is not my normal M.O. (I love running [even in the snow!] and being active). I read a lot, tried not to eat too much, and…painted my nails: Barbie pink with sparkles. I’m sure I’ll be cringing tomorrow when I actually go into public with them…but for now they are 10 bright spots in a white snowy world!