When I was little, instead of having TV privileges taken away from me as a punishment, I had books taken away from me. I distinctly remember forgoing my chores when I was in third grade and consequently staring at the top of the refrigerator wishing I was tall enough to retrieve Hoot by Carl Hiaasen from the ledge (I'm still not tall enough). Throughout elementary school, I was an avid reader. I finished the Harry Potter series in third grade, and I also enjoyed books like Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh and Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Like several of my classmates, at nine years old, I was reading on the twelfth grade level. In middle school, I ran into the same dilemma many lovers of books have run into for years: with increased homework loads and five to six swim practices each week, I simply did not have time to read. Sure, school books like The Grapes of Wrath were fascinating and enjoyable, but the list of additional books I wanted to read for leisure grew longer and longer. Even my summers were packed and it seemed that my days of reading up to ten books a month were over. Then I had this realization: it was not that I did not have time to read books...it was that I did not make time to read books. Because I did not have the pressure of taking tests associated with my leisure books, I failed to assign them the value they deserved. I subconsciously believed, "No tests, no grades, no competition, no pressure...no books." I read once that there is no such thing as having "no time" to do something; anything can be done with prioritization, mindfulness, and dedication.
So how do I prioritize my life so that I can reap the benefits of reading for leisure (benefits like relaxation, restoration, an increased knowledge base, improvement in memory, better writing, and advanced analytical skills)? Here are a few actions I have taken and highly recommend:
If you are looking for your next good read, here is a top ten list of books that I have read in the past few years:
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