Books are a uniquely portable magic
Jan. 17th, 2023 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nothingbutcowboybootsI used to read a lot, but like a lot of my hobbies and interests, it's fallen by the wayside over the last 4 or 5 years. I was always a complete bookworm when I was younger, it was one of the many things I was bullied for in school - but luckily I didn't let it stop me and continued to read voraciously as a teen and young adult.
But we all know what life is like. Between work and marriage and parenting and house and life, I stopped. I stopped doing a lot of things that I love and - probably unsurprisingly - this had a major impact on my mental health.
I started reading again late last year. It has been a little mind-blowing how something as simple as reading a book can make such a huge difference on how I feel. See also playing video games. I understand the logic and that it's not about the book or the game but about finding time to spend on myself and have fun.
I started reading the Supernatural tie-in novels - they're not great books but they're easy to read and I really enjoy them. I've also got the Leverage and The Librarians books on my TBR and I've been eyeing the Stargate ones which I've never read. I also want to pick up some of the classic science-fiction and fantasy I used to love when I was younger, the ones that introduced me to the genres - Tolkien, Asimov, Heinlein, Brooks, Eddings, Feist, Goodkind, Jordan, Clarke, Verne, Wells.
And I know there's so much newer fantasy and sci-fi that I haven't read, and even more that I don't even know about. Starting with what I know I love seems to me to be the best, and then let the magical algorithms of goodreads recommend things to be based on that.
I'm excited to see what else I discover!
But we all know what life is like. Between work and marriage and parenting and house and life, I stopped. I stopped doing a lot of things that I love and - probably unsurprisingly - this had a major impact on my mental health.
I started reading again late last year. It has been a little mind-blowing how something as simple as reading a book can make such a huge difference on how I feel. See also playing video games. I understand the logic and that it's not about the book or the game but about finding time to spend on myself and have fun.
I started reading the Supernatural tie-in novels - they're not great books but they're easy to read and I really enjoy them. I've also got the Leverage and The Librarians books on my TBR and I've been eyeing the Stargate ones which I've never read. I also want to pick up some of the classic science-fiction and fantasy I used to love when I was younger, the ones that introduced me to the genres - Tolkien, Asimov, Heinlein, Brooks, Eddings, Feist, Goodkind, Jordan, Clarke, Verne, Wells.
And I know there's so much newer fantasy and sci-fi that I haven't read, and even more that I don't even know about. Starting with what I know I love seems to me to be the best, and then let the magical algorithms of goodreads recommend things to be based on that.
I'm excited to see what else I discover!
Don't get me started!
Date: 2023-01-19 11:40 am (UTC)My current read is Playing Under the Piano, an autobiography by Hugh Bonneville (of Downton Abbey fame). I recently completed Journey to Fulfillment by Pema Chodron (love her!) and am working through Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon.