A strange thing happened this month: Halfway through February I lost interest in reading.
I still crave books. I still get excited about picking them up from the library and adding them to my wish list (and even buying a stack, which I hardly ever do). I just don’t really feel interested in actually reading. I’ve even listened to two audiobooks with my kids (Ice Whale by Jean Craighead George and The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall—I only just now realized they’re by women with homophonous first names) and only rarely tuned in enough to pay attention to be able to say that I’ve “read” them this month.
It could be because I’m super busy doing volunteer stuff or because I’m focusing a lot of attention on healthful living (exercise, nutrition, sleep) or because I’m spending so much time on home repairs/improvements. Or maybe it’s just the ebb and flow of my reading life. Maybe I’ve just got spring fever.
What am I doing besides reading? That is a very good question. I’m really not sure. I know I’m not watching movies/television shows because I’m not interested in those either. My house is clean, so maybe I’ve been housekeeping.
Whatever’s going on, hopefully I’ll feel more like reading in March. I miss enjoying reading.
Here’s what I read during the non-blah half of February:
Grown-ups’ Books:
The Burgess Boys: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout (February 2016 SBC selection)
Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America by Barbara Ehrenreich
No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva by Pema Chödrön (stopped reading because it was due back at the library)
Kids’ Books:
Rome Antics by David Macaulay (read-aloud)
Pegasus, the Flying Horse by Jane Yolen (read-aloud)
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky (read-aloud)
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (read-aloud)
Archimedes Takes a Bath by Joan M. Lexau (read-aloud)
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (audiobook, re-re-read, and I cried this time, too)
Currently Reading:
- The Histories by Herodotus (for my Cavalcade of Classics, as a never-ending read-aloud with my daughter)
- The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery (recommended by my daughter)
- The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (read-aloud for homeschool book club)
My To-Read List for March:
- The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (SBC March selection—Read along with us at our Goodreads Group!)
My Long-Shot To-Read List for March (same as the one for February, actually):
- Villette by Charlotte Brontë (Cavalcade of Classics)
- The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (Cavalcade of Classics)
- Her by Harriet Lane (the last review copy I’ve been ignoring)
What have you enjoyed reading in the past month? What’s on your to-read list for March? If you blog your answer, please post a link in the comments (and/or link back to this post, if you’re so inclined).
Imperfect Happiness 
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