Reading into it

Hello! I took an unplanned break from blogging last week to enjoy the holiday — though I'll admit that I didn't do much. Andrew had to work until 2 p.m., so we just went to a barbecue with his family and then drove high up into the foothills to watch the fireworks throughout the entire valley. It was nice to spend some time together, especially since we were both back to work on Friday.

And, as you can see, we also had some fun with sparklers and a DSLR. I'm zapping Andrew with my power. :) I am kind of embarrassed (and kind of proud) to admit that we spent about two hours playing with sparklers and went through about 50 of them. We did have help from our friends Anthony and Brittany, so don't think that we're that fire-crazy.

It was good week. I became an aunt for the first time (at least on my side of the family; I am already an aunt to more than 30 nieces and nephews on Andrew's side) to adorable baby Evelynn, and I read more than I have in a long time.

Which brings me to my point: I really love reading. When I was in elementary school, I used to read constantly. I was the kid who could always be found in my room reading when it was time for dinner instead of playing outside with the neighbor kids. But I've really slowed down on reading since then, and I feel like I'm missing something in my life.

So my boss, knowing that I love to read but wasn't making time for it, encouraged me to send a really ambitious goal on Goodreads: 25 books by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I've already fallen behind; I've only read seven books so far, and we're halfway through 2013.

I reserved a bunch of books at the library to get caught up, and I've already plowed through two of them, but I have three to finish by next Tuesday. That's the problem with reserving books: They seem to all become available at the same time, and then you have to quickly read them all because you won't be able to renew them.

What does this mean? It means I'm focusing more on reading and filling this gaping hole in my life than growing this blog right now. Ever since I read two excellent books over the past two weeks — Inferno and What Alice Forgot — I remembered the exhilaration I feel when I finish a great book and how much I want to share it right now. I've found what I've been missing.

Don't worry; I'll still be around here. But I'm focusing on what'll make me feel like me again, and for now, that is reading voraciously.