Let Me Never Forget The Delight of Reading

Listening to: "The Heart of Life" (John Mayer)

I started thinking about books today. Well, actually I've been thinking about them all week long.
Moreso I guess about how much I miss them, and what a big hole my life has when I'm not immersed in one.

I wish I were as crazy book-obsessed as I was when I was a kid. I was a voracious reader. My parents didn't let us watch television until we learned how to read. And before then, I would grab books and stand in front of my grandmother with my back to her until she picked me up to read to me. (Even as a three-year-old, I'm sure that was not the most charming thing I could have done.) So I'm not real sure what happened. But I don't like it. I miss the worlds I used to get lost in daily. I don't even intentionally find time to read anymore.

It's more than pathetic. It's tragic.

Books are incredible. I'm missing out on a heck of a lot. I'm missing out on worlds that I've never even discovered. It's a blessing I suppose, that I have worlds to remember. They're what's motivating me to pursue books again. Let me never forget the delight of reading. Libraries are exhilarating. They are portals to a neverland where the imagination is set free and where the mind may go wherever it pleases. Books are vast worlds, that are ours to envision and hold dear. And words. Words are extraordinary. They are glorious. And words are unforgettable. They resonate. And endure like memories.

So, this summer, I have a simple goal. Just, read.

Ten Books I Plan On Devouring This Year:
"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
"Till We Have Faces" by C.S. Lewis
"The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis
"The Stranger" by Albert Camus
"The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
"Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler
"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau
"The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy

And many more...
Comment with your five favorite books, books you plan to read, or just book suggestions: