HOW TO READ BOOKS; AND A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY
included in this post:
how to read books. a special anniversary with a special offer. free downloads. coping with being frazzled.
HOW TO READ BOOKS
a planned reading life
My bedside table is looking a lot better than it did a little while ago. It's not wonderful now (still needs a little tidying to my mind!) but you should have seen it before! It was heaped above and below with my TBR piles - that's 'To Be Read' in case you didn't know. The books were heaped up, overflowing, AND still being added to. Gradually I acknowledged to myself that they had become somewhat of a burden and I couldn't face reading a lot of them. Some had been sitting there for months and months. A few for years. They were a complete mishmash of different genres - fiction, non-fiction; memoir, biography, travel, devotional. Booker Prize long lists and friends' recommendations. I needed help! One day I took myself for a long walk and gave myself a talking to. And asked God for a solution to my problem. Yes - I prayed!
When I returned, I happened to glance (understatement) at Facebook and from it followed a link to a blog which I have now totally lost and I can't remember its name. If you happen to know, please tell me! This woman had categorised her TBR books, written lists of genres, titles, times to read ... she was extremely listed and categorised. Even more so than I am. I was impressed. I also knew I didn't actually want to be THAT organised and listed about it. I'm sure she has lists of lists of lists. I sat down on the floor and pulled out all the books and spread them around me. Really? This? and that? and why? I took a deep breath.You can do this, I told myself. Pulled down my current journal from the top of my table, and began to think about the different genres and subjects surrounding me. To pile them up in categories. And jot down some ideas.
I made a BIG decision. I only read (fiction) at bed time; and that's partly why everything else is unread. First I need to create a time to read non-fiction. I looked at my schedule, trying to think creatively, outside the box. I awarded myself - gave myself the gift - of three different sessions for reading: daily, weekly, monthly/seasonal.
Daily is my morning devotional time, to read a chapter of a book that will strengthen my faith, deepen my walk with the Lord. Just one chapter. What a difference that is making in my spiritual life!
Weekly is an hour straight after lunch, midweek, four days a week. (The other 3 I'm out, busy, tied up.) Already this is sheer joy! What a gift!
Monthly/seasonal is the books for specific times of the year (e.g., Advent, Lent, or topics to do with different times of the year.)
Then I divided the books into the different genres and topics. Fiction went easily straight back on to the bottom shelf, but in the order I want to read them, knowing that I will now delight in them at bedtime when I read for about 45 minutes each night.
That left 5 different areas: Walking; Spiritual Direction and Mentoring; personal and Spiritual growth; marriage; memoir and biography.
I turned to the back of my journal, a double page spread, and found great pleasure in neatly noting and underlining the five headings, listing each of the book titles in each of the sections, and numbered the sections 1-5.
Now I had manageable smaller piles of books, in areas I am interested in. Which is why they were on the TBR pile in the first place.
I decided that I could read from 2 of the genres each week - currently, I'm reading one from the Spiritual Direction pile on (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and one from the Walking pile (on Thursdays and Saturdays.)
When each is finished I'll probably swop that particular genre for a different one. And a third can be left somewhere in the house where I'll pick up and read it any time - that's also from the Walking pile at the moment, and it's in the sitting room. In the bathroom is a lighter history book to read in the bath; and the kitchen has enough cookery books that are eminently readable, to last a long time ....
And suddenly I find I am not only enjoying reading, enlarging my mind, but I'm racing though books and the pile has significantly diminished. Both of which are good, and both of which lead to the thought that I NEED MORE BOOKS. And more bookshelves but that's another story.
Some of the questions I asked myself about my books and my reading:
What do I need right now in my spiritual life?
What do I need to develop and grow as a Christian, as a mentor and Director, as a wife, a mother, a grandmother?
Is there anything I need to let go of in order to read?
How could I rework my schedule to give myself the gift of reading?
Where will I sit to read? Winter? Summer?
How do you choose what to read and when and where?
Are you organised or impulsive? What makes you choose a particular book and where do you find things to read? I'd love to know!
And tell me if you decide to follow something similar to my chosen current method.
Here's another book you might like to read - and it's on special offer and for a very good reason:
ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS
WAS PUBLISHED and LAUNCHED on
NOVEMBER 13th 2019.
How can it be a whole year?!
Have you read it yet? Paperback, Kindle? Or listened on audio?
To celebrate the first anniversary weekend, there's a very special offer on a signed paperback edition.
This might solve a few Christmas present ideas for you!
The story of my husband and I backpacking right across France, discussing our struggling marriage, our faith questions and struggles, trying to find coffee and icecream ..... and walking, walking, walking for 500 plus kilometres.
Who do you know who'd like to read this - walkers, Francophiles, people struggling with faith issues, with their marriages ..... it actually appeals to a very wide audience! AND it has lots of coloured photos in the middle.
For the weekend (Nov 13-15 only) to celebrate the anniversary, the books are on special offer!
plus the more you buy the greater the discount:
1 copy £10
2 copies £18
3 copies £25
AND
FREE P+P * on orders with promo code:
FREESHIP
RRP is £12.99 + p+p
CLICK HERE TO BUY WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS
The offer is only available from Nov 13 - 15th
*sorry - UK only
FREE DOWNLOADS!
Many people have told me how helpful they've found the memes I wrote and posted on Social Media over the past 10 days. Here they are again specially for you. You could print them out and put them up to remind yourself regularly. Or use as a bookmark in your journal or Bible.
Praying they will be helpful for you
Feeling frazzled? Frustrated?
Floundering around
in these strange and challenging times?
An Advent Retreat
for uncertain times -
An Individual Guided Retreat
(online)
Flicking through to the end? You missed How to Read Books; the Christmas present, special anniversary, offers; some free downloads, and details of how to help with feeling frazzled!