A new Collective ongoing series : For the Love of Books
"Can Maureen come outside to play?" the little girl asked
"I think she already is outside" my father answered
"No daddy, I'm right here, behind the sofa..." I said
This scene happened many years ago but it's still etched in my brain. Big glasses, braids and always preferring to read a book inside, over playing outside in the cold Dutch weather. My father never saw me sitting on the floor that day, quietly tucked away behind the sofa, completely in my own world. But he made sure I got outside that day to get some fresh air, I remember that too. Wherever I went, a book accompanied me - in Amsterdam riding the tram to school or while visiting family, it didn't matter - I was reading, book after book. The local library was my retreat and while my friends were done in ten minutes flat, I always lingered for hours. Yes, my love for reading started early and never left.
Fast forward to today - I'm truly grateful my girls are big lovers of reading as well (we carried real books with us on our 8 months world trip and donated most of them after we were finished). Between the tree of us, we have a pretty big collection of various books - new and old - or we get books from our local Brooklyn library.
Since I started to write my first blogpost online in 2010, I wanted to share more about the subject of reading real books, but I never really did. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to start a bookclub. But if by sharing more what I'm reading, someone else might get inspired to pick up a book and start their own journey of loving books. Reading is not only good for your brain, it's good for the soul as well. And feeding our souls with other information than the negativity shown on the news or on social media, is in my book a good thing - no pun intended.
Now, for those of you who think 'oh but I don't have time to read a book', please stop for a minute and think how you really fill your days. If you are not used to reading books, start with two pages a day and see how it goes. Between the kids, laundry, work, commute, grocery shopping or all the other daily things we all do, create one intentional part of your day just for yourself. Honestly, you can read anywhere if you set your mind to it - while eating lunch at work, before you go to bed in the evening or right away when you wake up in the morning. By consciously turning of the tv or computer for thirty minutes, try filling that time with reading your book instead. Or if you so prefer, you can even read while you use the restroom.
More importantly is this: read what you like, not what everyone else is reading or promoting. Read to feed your soul. And if you like what you have read, share it with others! I personally would love to hear your book choices - you can share them with me here, on social media or send me an email.
Simply said, this new ongoing series is sharing what I read in short blurbs - to pass on my love for books, to you.
Happy reading x
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This week, I've read Erin's book - Chasing Slow, courage to journey off the beaten path.
Most people know Erin from her populair blog or from HGTV. Since I wasn't familiar with who she is before reading the book, her story and journey were new to me. Erin's commitment to opening up and to share her inner struggles, sharing her failures and successes (and most of all I love her writing voice), were what appealed to me. Click on the link to read more. I know I will read it again, whenever "my lion is roaring". A great book to remind us to stay true to ourselves and embrace the season we are in. Because this too shall pass.
