Reading before Sleeping

I’ve been prioritising reading lately, which has been wonderful.

Uni does take up my mornings (or, it should), but generally after 5 I choose not to do anything study related or anything else on my to-do list. I like to have a long wind-down before going to sleep, I like letting myself relax for a while. Going to bed immediately after studying or being out is not my idea of a good time.

When I was younger I loved reading before bed, and pushing the limits of how long I would read for. There was nothing better than staying up later than normal and completely devouring a book. It was always so exciting and fun and I couldn’t wait to read. Similarly, reading books on the bus to school, reading books on a Saturday morning when I didn’t have anything else to do that day. I have vivid memories of driving home after my year 11 and 12 exams, making a toasted cheese sandwich, and eating it at the dining table while reading a book and sitting in the sunshine. My brother would do the same, and we’d just sit there reading in silence. I’d give myself an hour or two to read before studying for the exam I had the next day.

I love Goodreads because I can keep track of what I read. There would be some books from high school I’ve forgotten I’ve read, mainly library books that didn’t stand out to me, but I have been consistently using it since 2015.

According to Goodreads I have read 756 books. Which is a lot. I kind of can’t believe it, but if I’m reading 100 a year and have added books from when I was younger, such as Roald Dahl, then it does make sense. It’s just crazy to think of how much time I’ve spent reading. (Although let’s be honest, how many of those books did I skim read??)

Sometimes I feel sad because I only have one bookcase. It’s tall, yes, but I feel that my collection doesn’t accurately represent how much I love books. But in my decluttering stage, a lot of books I had I didn’t actually want to read again. And it felt silly to keep them just for the sake of it. So maybe in that sense my bookcase does accurately represent how much I love books, because the ones I do have are actually loved, and reread. (Or they’re for university and they suck the life out of me.) (Looking at you Wuthering Heights.)

But I’ve loved reading before bed lately. Sometimes it’s several chapters because I’m not too tired and have a couple of hours, other nights it’s only one chapter or two. However long it is, it’s a joy.

Sarah xx

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