Week 2: Reading Profile

I love reading but often find it difficult to make time to read because I often have so many other things happening in my life, but who doesn't? I'm the type that will either fall in love with a book and finish it within a weekend or if I am less interested, it might take me a solid month to get through something. I tend to read more in the summer because I like to sit outside and read and I'm also fortunate to be able to spend many beach days reading on the shore of Lake Michigan. There are so many books out there that I don't believe anyone should feel the pressure to finish a book that they don't like; break up and move on!

In recent years I have been more and more drawn to memoirs and non-fiction because I have found that truth often is stranger than fiction! Some of my favorites include Educated, The Glass Castle, Crying in H-Mart, and I'm Glad My Mom Died. When I'm in the mood for fiction, I often gravitate towards mysteries, thrillers, or what a coworker once described as "books with lonely main characters," like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I also like books from any category that are atmospheric and make me feel like I am actually there. I would like to take this semester as an opportunity and a challenge to read outside of my comfort zone and as such plan to read a romance, sci-fi, and western. I also plan to read a non-fiction and a literary fiction as a break within my comfort zone. Last semester I took Materials for Youth and read a lot of really good YA novels and graphic novels and while I don't read those as often, they still have a fond place in my heart! It's nice to take a break from the adult reading world and to be a little nostalgic when reading. I only just read Are You There God, It's Me Margaret for the first time and the importance of that book would have been lost on me as an 11 year old reader. I pre-ordered Phoebe's Diary and it was not only delightful but remembering my own teenage angst when reading it made me feel a lot more appreciative and less embarrassed of my formative years.

I love the feeling of a physical book when reading and I especially prefer to read paperback books because they are less heavy than hardback books. I like listening to audiobooks as well and just need to build up the habit of listening to them during my lunch break at work instead of "doom scrolling" on my phone.