Why This Blog?

I have always been an avid reader, at least until I had two small children. Years ago I kept a "book list" of every book I read per year. Often I averaged 60-70 books per year. That was then, this is now. Then I lived with my dog. Now, I have a two year old, a five month old, a job, a house we are renovating, church activities, a husband, and two rental houses. (Please don't draw any conclusions from the order of the list I just made.)

I still own several bookshelves full of books and have approximately ten unread books on my bedside table at any given time. However, more evenings than not I don't get to bed until 11 pm or later. At that point, I choose to watch episodes of Monk, Psych, CSI, or other such shows, rather than read. As we all know, passive entertainment is easier on tired minds.

However, I still yearn to read the many books I have amassed. I can no longer fool myself into thinking that I can gain any insight from these authors simply by owning their book. I actually have to open the book and read it.

I miss the days of expanding my mind by exploring another person's mind through the printed word. I was an English major for a reason, I do truly love to read and always have.

So, rather than continue to bemoan my lack of time to read, I thought I would use this tool I have discovered called "blogging" to motivate myself to read. It will be an online journal of the books I am reading, not a book review or book summary. I will merely present one or two insightful nuggets that I have gained from each chapter as I go. I simply cannot commit myself to more than that at this stage in my life.