10 Things to Tell You: #1

10 Things: When Do You Read?

I follow Laura Tremaine on social media and listen to her Smartest Person in the Room podcast. She just started a new podcast called 10 Things to Tell You. (This is also a challenge that she has done before on Instagram.) Each week on her 10 Things podcast she asks a question or gives a prompt that she challenges her listeners to journal, share with a friend, or post on social media. I don't know that I will do all of her prompts but I want to do some of them. She asks interesting and introspective questions and I thought that they would be fun to share on my blog.

When Do You Read? How Do You Read? What Do You Read?

This seems like a good prompt to kick things off. I love to talk about reading. One of my great joys in life is talking books. I am definitely a girl who loves to be in a book club and I am currently in one that I really enjoy. One of my *dream* jobs would be to moderate book clubs and come up with discussion questions and lead the discussion. Does this job exist??? LOL.

When do I read?

Whenever I can. I love to read and I make time for it. I am always reading/listening to several books at a time. I am always reading a fiction book and I am always reading a nonfiction book. I pick up whichever one I am most in the mood to read that day. I am also ALWAYS listening to an audio book as well. Listening to audiobooks is a perfect activity for when I am working on Sisters Creed projects during the day, driving the  kids to and fro, and while I do things around the house. (I also listen to a lot of podcasts.) I always have a book on my kindle fire that I am reading and I also read my scriptures daily. So...I read a lot.

I read my scriptures or listen to them (I have an audio version) each morning and then we read scriptures as a family most nights.  I listen to audiobooks while I work at home and the kids are at school. I don't watch TV so after dinner and activities with the kids I will usually read for awhile before bed. I also have anxiety that I have to work hard to keep in in check and it really likes to rear its ugly head in the middle of the night. I don't have trouble falling asleep but I usually wake up at least once in the night and have trouble falling back asleep. That is where my kindle fire comes in handy. I always have a classic book loaded up on my kindle. When I can't go to sleep I am able to read in the dark until I do. I find that the classics are perfect for this nocturnal reading. The stories are interesting enough that I want to read them but not so gripping that they keep my attention all night. I will usually read for about 10-15 minutes before I fall back to sleep.

How do you read?

Also any way that I can! I, of course, love a physical book. That would be my number one choice. My favorite places in the world are book stores with cozy upholstered chairs to sink into and read or flip through a book with a hot chocolate in hand. I also absolutely adore old books. I love their look, feel, smell, and the stories they tell. I have collected many for my own personal collection... both favorite authors and titles, classics, and childrens books. I also always have old books for sale in my booth and people love them and snap them up. Some of my favorite conversations at vintage shows are when someone has found a beloved book in my booth.

I listen to audiobooks. I started to listen to audiobooks right after Kameron was born. I was a stay at home mom with a baby and a preschooler. Tyler was working two jobs at the time so he would leave early in the morning and come home late at night. Those days were so LONG when it was just me and little tiny kids. Once I found audiobooks...these were in tape or CD form that I would check out from the library...I became addicted and started listening to books while I cooked, cleaned, and took care of my kids. I love that physically reading a book and listening to an audiobook stimulate the exact same areas of the brain. Audiobooks are so great because it allows me to multitask! I love it! Tyler and I also often listen to audiobooks while we travel. One of my Christmas gifts from Tyler this year was a subscription to Audible. It may be my very favorite gift so far!! It has definitely already been put to good use!

When Kindles came out I was very dismissive. I wanted to hold a book in my hand. I thought they were lame with their black and white electronic dreariness. But then the Kindle Fire came out and I asked for one for my birthday maybe five or six years ago and I was converted. They are awesome and so convenient!! So many books on one little device! Plus, I love that you can read with them at night! No stupid clip on book lights. No reading with a headlamp like I used to do! LOL. I prefer my background to be dark and my text to be white. This cuts down on any eye strain or glow in a darkened bedroom. It is perfect for my insomnia reads. I also always take my kindle when traveling. I love it so much! I still marvel at the convenience of instantaneously being able to download the next book that I want. It's like magic to me!! Especially when I am reading a series and I want to move on to the next book RIGHT NOW!

What do you read?

Everything! My favorite genre by far is historical fiction. I ADORE historical fiction and always have since I was a little girl. I also really enjoy biographies and memoirs. That would be my second favorite genre. Third, contemporary fiction. Fourth, nonfiction. I am not a big fantasy or mystery reader. I don't like gritty crime novels. But I will read them sometimes and have even really enjoyed several of them. That is why I particularly love a book club. It forces me to read things outside of my favorite genres. My book club has picked a lot of fantasy, mystery, and YA. So many times I have been very pleasantly surprised. The Night Circus, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Rainbow Rowell books, and Tana French novels come to mind.

Tyler is also a great resource. We try to read several of the same books each year. We started this traditon when we first got married. We started off with the goal of reading one mutual book per year. Now we both read many of the same books. It is so fun to be out on a date night or on a trip and passionately discuss books. We are both very opinionated!!  I am so glad that he is a reader and loves book stores and author events as much as I do. He has recommended some of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi books...books I would never have picked up on my own. He had me read George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series years and years ago. Way before the TV show came out and I loved his books! He also got me hooked on Ernest Cline. Ready Player One is another all-time favorite book. He had me read The Martian which I also loved and many others.

Spokane Is Reading...the yearly book selection made by my town...has been a great resource. I never would have read ANY of the book selections on my own and I have loved them all. I've also mentioned that I love podcasts and subscribe to several book related ones and have gotten many great book suggestions there. I love Bookstagram (book related Instagram) I get so many good suggestions there as well. I am also involved in several FB book groups. Reading just adds such richness and joy to my life!! I can't imagine my life without it!! This year the kids gave me a t-shirt for Christmas that says: Bookish. I love it so much!

Some of my favorite authors are:

Pat Conroy
Diana Gabledon
George R.R. Martin
Jane Austen
The Brontes
Ray Bradbury
Ernest Cline
John Jakes
JK Rowling

Some of my favorite books are:

Prince of Tides and all Pat Conroy books
Outlander and the Outlander series
Harry Potter and the Harry Potter series
The Outsiders
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
North and South series by John Jakes
Game of Thrones Series
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

These authors and book titles are just a few of my MANY favorites! Reading is so important to me and I can't imagine a day in my life without books in some form or another. People always ask me when I have time to read and I think that we always have the time to do the things that are a priority to us and reading is a priority to me.  I am always able to squeeze it in even if it is just a little bit each day. Plus, like I said before, I very rarely watch TV. I would much rather be reading! ;)