Feeding a New Addiction

Do you remember that old Corn Flakes commercial where they tell you to "taste them again...for the first time." ? I probably only remember it because my dad used to quote it all the time. Anyway, that's what I feel like I'm doing with my New Year's resolution..."Reading again...for the first time."

Last Fall, I heard a story on NPR about how the typical person only read about four books in a year. "WHAT!" I exclaimed. Then I tried to remember how many books I had read in the last year. Huh. Apparently I was below average.

This had not always been the case. I was a much more avid reader when I was younger. I remember my first set of "real books" the kind that had more than 10 pages and small pictures. (Ramona Quimby in case you're wondering). As far as I can tell, my downfall was graduate school. By the time I graduated it seemed that I had done so much reading that my mind just lacked the mental capacity and attention span for it. I distinctly remembered only reading magazines around that time because it was the only reading I could handle. I don't think that was necessarily a bad thing, the problem was I didn't get back in to the habit...until now.

Because I am a therapist, I believe that everyone should set goals...and those goals should set you up for success. When I made a new year's resolution to "read more" I knew that about two months into my new year, I would have a new baby...maybe I needed to set my aspirations low. I decided to try to read one book a month.

Little did I know that my desire to read would come back with a vengeance. I seriously can't get enough of it. I get mad when I start falling asleep at night because I've been reading so late; and, my baby gets frustrated because I try to read while I'm nursing her. And now that I have a goodreads account and can make a list of books that I want to read without forgetting them, I think I'm getting in over my head. Apparently it's time for me to set a new goal.