Credit to/graphic taken from: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/literature-is-freedom#.ck4xm2kG3

Everywhere I turn, I see articles, blog posts, memes and quotes saying things like “Good writers read”.

Well, I guess that makes me a bad writer.

As a child and a teenager, I could easily devour several novels a week. I would read at every single opportunity – waiting for the bus or subway and then reading during the commute. If I’d had a choice between reading a book or hanging out with a friend, the decision would have been easy.

My love for reading was strong and unflinching.

A true love story.

I remember the good old days of holding back my laughter at a funny part in a book (to avoid the “Is she crazy?” look from strangers) or reading something a little risqué and foolishly looking over my shoulder as if the stranger next to me somehow knew what I was reading.

Then I went to law school.

With my head constantly stuck in hundreds of unrelenting, dry and boring law-related daily reading, my desire for reading for pleasure quickly died. Even after graduating, I would have preferred to watch paint dry than pick up a novel by one of my favorite authors. It took me years to pick up a book for pure enjoyment but even then, the feeling wasn’t the same.

These days, most of my novel reading is done on vacation and when I am away from home. If I’m in a lounge chair on the beach or next to a pool for 7 days, I can easily slay 5 decent sized-novels. But in my day to day life, I just can’t read consistently.

I totally agree that reading another writer’s words provides inspiration and that exploring other genres expands the mind. It’s only logical that “writing” and “being a reader” go hand in hand.

I just need to find a way to bring those “reading vacation reading flings” back home with me post-vacations.

I’m on a quest to fall back in love with being an avid reader.

I long for that blissful feeling in my life again.

Credit to/graphic taken from: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/literature-is-freedom#.ck4xm2kG3

What about you? Are you an avid reader? What’s on your To Be Read (TBR) list for 2018?

©2018 Marquessa Matthews. All Rights Reserved.

Updated from the originally posted March 17, 2016 version

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