What are you looking for?
Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Who Decided that Reading Books Was "Uncool"?

For those of you who know me outside of this blog, you know I am a certified bookworm. Always have been, always will be. My mom says that since I was able to sit up on my own, I've had a book draped across my lap.

I dream for the day when I have my own library in my house. This takes precedence over the kitchen--and I love food.

For me, nothing plays with my emotions quite like a good novel. I became engulfed in the story. The characters become my friends and I rival with the antagonist. I celebrate their victories and I cry for their losses. Reading a book is a way to transport to another realm from the comfort of my couch.


Even with a full time job, monthly volunteer activities, and maintaining a social life, I typically read between 4 and 7 books a month. Depending on how much the plots suck me in, I can crush a great book in 24 hours with the right amount of dedication.

Before you judge me, how many episodes of a television show do you watch a month? How many movies have you watched in the last four weeks? This is no different than my reading frenzies.

It's not as if I'm an extreme snowboarder or that I jump through hoops that have been set on fire. Why is everyone so shocked when I tell them I'm a reader?

Since when were books deemed "uncool"? 

People often complain about how much they hate reading. My question is: do you hate reading? Or do you hate what you have been reading? I always use the "books are similar to beer" analogy. Not everyone enjoys a hearty IPA, just like not everyone is going to enjoy a romance novel. Everyone has their preferred selections--and trust me, there are a million out there for you to choose from! Similar to what you do with beer selections, try out a few books. You'll be surprised at what you may prefer.

Late last year, I finally decided to become involved in my community. Being in a sorority in college, I desperately missed the convenience of having volunteer activities handed to me on a weekly basis. I went to a place I knew I would love--the library. This is when I became a book buddy. During my time at the library, I read with or to children of all ages. I hoped to show children that even adults read--you read long past when your teachers make you at school--and you can always find a great book no matter what your interests are. Often these children would not have someone to read to at home and I vowed to be that person for them. This still tears at my heartstrings as I hope that all children will choose to put down the remote control and pick up a book from time to time.

I strive to encourage children to read and to also, encourage adults to read.

In the past few months, I finally conned a few of my friends into joining my book club. It makes a book that much sweeter when you're able to discuss it with another fan. Especially when you are able to swap favorite books, this is the true beauty in a book club.

One of the best things I've stumbled upon this year is an organization called Book of the Month Club. Each month, they have five judges select a book of their choosing. These books, along with author biographies and detailed descriptions, are posted on the 1st of each month. Consider it a monthly Christmas for books. Included in your membership fee is one brand new hardback book with free shipping. They also throw in some free swag such as a wine glass koozie, bookmarks, and bendy straws. This website is perfect for any book nerd!

I always struggled with branching out from my classic reads--I'm a sucker for mysteries and psychological thrillers. The best thing about BOTM is that I'm able to branch out of my comfort zone and try some new genres. (Spoiler alert: the two books I included below, I received from BOTM).

If you're interested in checking out this website, I've included a link below which gives you 30% off your membership fee and they are including a free tote bag in your first box. How convenient for you to carry all of your books!

https://www.mybotm.com/d95aabb517832 

I'm forever looking for book recommendations from others. Please feel free to comment your favorite book or a book you're reading now below. Who knows, you might spark a conversation with someone who has similar interests.

For my fellow bookies, see my favorite book of 2016 below and my current novel in hand:

Favorite Book of 2016: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch



I'm not a huge sci-fi fan but holy macroni, I could not put this book down. Crouch's writing was impeccable and he made it understandable for those of us who aren't too keen on science. Whether you like sci-fi novels or not, I beg every single one of you to check out this book. You will thank me later.

Currently Reading: Good as Gone by Amy Gentry


This is my book's club current book. I'm only halfway through the novel thus far but I can already tell it's a huge page turner. I'm obsessed with where the plot is taking me. I'm a sucker for novels written from different perspectives because I'm a "know-it-all" and I want to know what every single character is thinking. I'm anxious to find out the ending and I hope you all will enjoy it too!

My challenge for you last week was to go out and say something kind to a stranger. Now I challenge you to one day this week, turn off your TV, put down your phone, and pick up a book. (I like to read in the mornings because it helps wake up your brain. Hello books and coffee! What could be better?)

Add your comment

  1. If you're looking for a good utopian type series, Red Queen is amazing! Probably the best book I have read this year. It was a quick read for me but no doubt worth it!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe for the latest news
http://www.mymellowchaos.com/2016/11/who-decided-that-reading-books-is-uncool.html
www.mymellowchaos.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2021-10
121586
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:7HKPIYPO4IR26CNZ44JZHF3JI5W2TSO6
<urn:uuid:2af8e2d7-da9e-470a-a413-31496c0e6442>
2021-03-03T23:58:42Z
172.217.8.19
application/xhtml+xml
sha1:Y7GGGCAO6OF32Q3M3R5TMGM6ZNO2BQMT
<urn:uuid:bec55c1d-d914-4276-8627-38cf07c773f3>
http://www.mymellowchaos.com/2016/11/who-decided-that-reading-books-is-uncool.html
response
<urn:uuid:1ee4e884-cb74-43d5-bd05-d52374491df2>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-10
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for February/March 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-119.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/