As long as I can remember I have LOVED to read. I remember sitting in my mom’s lap as she read The Saggy Baggy Elephant and learning how to read Dick and Jane with Mrs. Hubbs in kindergarten. As soon as I could put words together on a page, I was hooked. I couldn’t get enough of Laura Ingalls, Ramona Quimby, Fudge, Black Beauty, or Encyclopedia Brown. As I got older I found Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Twain on my Granny’s bookshelves.
In high school books took a backseat to activities and friends, but they still were a place where I found solace. In college my marketing major just wasn’t fitting, and in the stacks of Kent Library at Southeast Missouri State, I realized I was supposed to be an English teacher. Whitman and Wordsworth spoke to me amid those quiet, dark shelves in a way that Microeconomics couldn’t (oh, the pain!!).
So what does this have to do with fitness and this blog? Well, I believe that I have to be physically fit, but I also think I have to be intellectually fit, and reading is a big part of that for me. I assume that many of you reading this feel the same way. I’ll let you in on a little secret: fitness is not my passion. Big shock I don’t live and breath it; I know I have to do it. Exercise has to be a part of my life. I realize that if I am going to be able to write this blog, I am going to have to include some things I am passionate about so periodically I will be sharing what is “On My Nightstand.”
Pictured are the books I am currently reading or just finished. I highly recommend Quiet by Susan Cain. Her definition and discussion of introverts helped me learn about myself and the culture we live in. I also loved the new book by Nate Berkus. It is thoughtful and autobiographical. Not just design, but how to bring meaning to your home. I pick up Design Sponge every other month it seems because I love its freshness and hipster-ness. : ) My Bible is an important part of my life and is always on my nightstand. I heard the staff at our church had been reading The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis so I will be taking my time through it to process and let things sink in a bit. Other books, I just grab for fun and hope I have a minute between kids, laundry, meals, and pick-ups to savor a word or two or gaze upon a few beautiful rooms or views. Just having these books waiting on my nightstand gives me comfort. Yes, once a bookworm, always a bookworm (a much easier area to stay fit in for me!).
I know I have some avid readers that follow this blog, and I would love to hear from you. What are you reading? Have you read any of the books on my list? What did you think?
