We hope you all had fantastic holidays and are ready to face the new year head on. Blair is celebrating the beginning of 2014 with a new blog series on our literary resolutions. I start us off this week with the simple goal to
Easier said than done.
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Shocking though it may be about an English major and publishing industry professional, I have almost always been an avid reader. I would read late into the night, constantly have new titles awaiting me, and usually have a favorite book on hand.
I still love the idea of reading, collect books that I want to read, and plow through ones that I substantially start, but since becoming a passably functioning adult, I am usually in a less-than-alert state when I get home.
Rather than reading for a while, I am ready to curl up and fall asleep as early as acceptably possible (Meaning 8 p.m.-that’s acceptable, right?).
Sometime I get stressed out about not having finished a physical book in a while and I pressure myself to read. Anxiety-induced reading, however, is not enjoyable. No matter a title’s literary merit, very little of the text will register if I have to force myself to read it.
Compile this with the relative ease of unwinding in front of TV,
and I quickly give up on the futile resolve to make myself read.
Nonetheless, I continue to find books that I genuinely want to read, or to have read, which then makes me more anxious about my state of not reading. “I love reading, but I’m not reading. Am I a fraud? What am I doing? Why am I not reading RIGHT NOW??”
So this year I pledge to calm down about reading.
Rather than starting books that I think I should be reading, I am going to go with my gut and pick titles based purely on literary desire.
And I’m going to read at a pace set completely by my whims, not worrying about finishing for finishing’s sake. Sometimes this will be in a fervor fueled by the intensity of my enjoyment, but often this will be simply at my leisure. And that’s okay.
By stripping away the pressure and letting myself enjoy reading again, I hope to regain my footing in the fold of true book lovers. 2014 is the year I fall back in love with literature. So watch out books, here I come!
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Check back next week for another post on Blair’s literary resolutions. Happy reading!
John F. Blair, Publisher 
Ah…adulthood and responsibility. Reading what you enjoy and enjoying what you read become even more important as a stress reducer. Well said, Shannon, and may I add, delightful to read!
Haha – the belle clip put the song in my head!