What are you reading?

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What are you reading? seems to be a go-to question among friends and colleagues and family, especially in the summer months when we allow for such rewarding but hard to find time for endeavors. During July and August school children sign up for reading programs, beach novels get traded sand and all between besties, and adults of all degrees become literary critics with ease pronouncing and denouncing across their social media platforms. I too enjoyed a few novels in between the relentless weekly New Yorker. Whatever you are feeling today, joy over Taylor & Travis, excitement about Alcaraz’s buzz and level of excellence, or despair over the latest school shooting, marking over 430 such massacres of children since Columbine, fright over the walk-out of science and medical experts from the C.D.C., terror over Putin’s control of the current US President, anger towards the cowardly GOP dismantling voting rights, citizen rights, or anything that would require a conversation, horror over the wars still raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, in any case you just might find a way out of going crazy by reading a novel. Yes, fiction to start. But history and memoir and art and poetry and on and on through the whole myriad of genres will all guide you through the darkest of days and longest of nights.

Despite our many moves, even the latest one that required culling our library down to a select few, books have a place in our home. Some have been read so often they are tattered. Others are for easy reference. Still others are on the someday I will get to this list. We aren’t moving to reading on a tablet anytime soon. Bound paper still holds us as we hold it. There are the books that got us through the worst days, through happy times and others that brought new perspectives, and others that we need to reread because, well, just because. I wonder what titles stand out to you?

There are writers I admire so so very much. I love their daring voices or quippy diction or better yet their varied syntax. But mostly I need to know that truth prevails or that sometimes it doesn’t but you will. When an author kills off an innocent character it can bring about the internal shift that arrogant central character needed or it can just be a tragedy. Regardless, you feel the surge of living in their fiction. Reading about torn families and broken hearts and unresolved pain can lessen the headlines. Can reignite faith. Even hope. Pendulums may swing in Washington. But people can rise. Often they do in novels.

Sometimes we think we don’t have enough room for books. Thankfully we ignore that reality and cram a few more somewhere somehow. Picking up Woolf I reread a sentence that strings together 50 words with ease and remember what extended thought feels like, sounds like, and know what is possible, again. I can remember the creative genius in action. All while holding a slim spine published over a century ago or just last week. No matter, when it’s born from grace, you know.

They say kids don’t read anymore. Can’t read. But with all the adults in the room staring down in their TikTok haze, what do you expect? There are answers to be found in books. Or at least questions for you to mull over. Just start reading an old favorite and see where you end up. Read it along side a kid. See where it takes the both of you.

21 thoughts on “What are you reading?”

  2. I am not reading fiction right now. I am reading “Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs” by Juli Berwald. It is about how climate change, diseases, people using bombs and cyanide to fish (very common), etc., are threatening the existence of coral reefs. Coral reefs are extremely important to the ocean’s eco systems. However, scientists (like the author) are trying to safe them and she is describing various ways to do that.

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  3. Great post! I’m so grateful that my grandson, only nineteen months old, loves books. Whenever I am in his room, he peruses the shelves of his dinosaur bookcase, and pulls out one or two treasured books for me to read to him. One of my most cherished sounds is his sweet voice saying “more” as I close the book. I hope that he will always enjoy books.

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  4. Great post! I’m so grateful that my grandson, only nineteen months old, loves books. Whenever I am in his room, he peruses the shelves of his dinosaur bookcase, and pulls out one or two treasured books for me to read to him. One of my most cherished sounds is his sweet voice saying “more” as I close the book. I hope that he will always enjoy books.

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  5. Great post! I’m so grateful that my grandson, only nineteen months old, loves books. Whenever I am in his room, he peruses the shelves of his dinosaur bookcase, and pulls out one or two treasured books for me to read to him. One of my most cherished sounds is his sweet voice saying “more” as I close the book. I hope that he will always enjoy books.

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  6. If you ever feel like giving a new author a try, I’m launching my new book, Speak Slowly, Please…I’m English, on September 30th. I’d love to hear your opinion of it. I can arrange a free download from Amazon for you (I think).

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  7. I love reading and writing. One of my all time favorites is “American Dirt.” It was very good. I haven’t read any of the titles shown here, so maybe my next read will be one of them. I’m always looking for a good story. 🙂

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  8. I love this! I’m also all for books and not tablets. A friend once said with a tablet he could read books anywhere, like on a plane. But nothing beats holding a book in your hands, flipping back to re-read something former that is relevant to where you’re currently at in the book. I’m so proud of libraries offering reading programs with rewards for children who love to read. AND I’m super proud of the libraries that have banned books!
    It’s sad when people say they don’t read. They are missing out on so much. Before I wrote professionally, I averaged about three books per week. (The Amazing Kreskin read four books PER NIGHT thanks to a special technique he developed). Nowadays I read several books per year. I read early in the morning so I’m not in “editing” mode and I can really enjoy what I’m reading.

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  9. Hi there. I haven’t forgotten you. My book published today, and although it is available on Amazon, it seems I’m not able to get author copies yet. Once everything is up and running, I’ll let you know and arrange a copy for you. You can email me at sweetabruzzo@gmail.com, and let me know where to send the info for your free download.

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