Enthusiastically, Dawn

Welcome to something new here at Enthusiastically, Dawn. I have been wanting to share a bit more about books, reading and literature for awhile. It’s been on my heart to stir up conversation about read worthy books and discuss the whys and wherewithalls of what we love and what we don’t and all the reasons so. I have been enjoying a small book reading group over the past two years and have greatly appreciated the book choices, and follow up meetings – over dinner as thoughts are shared.

The only thing that has kept me from sharing a bit more on the blog is my own limitations of time to scheduled commitments ratio! I really love Goodreads and continue to track my reading there. I have a small reading log as well, but seem to neglect it in favor of my general journal which seems to be a receptacle of all the moving parts in my life.

I love to read. Plain and simple. It is my favorite activity (after squats, of course- hahaha- if you know me, you know). I also am trying NOT to read too many books at once this year, but it seems I enjoy choosing what I read to my mood or interest level for the day. Which means, I try to keep multi genres going. My favorite genres are (in no particular order- ie. mood/interest dependent) non-fiction, memoir, biography, fiction, poetry and Christian non-fiction, classic literature. OK, so truth be told, I am really trying to up my classic literature game. I missed a lot of these in my younger years due to a choppy education. However, I rarely will read what I don’t like. Reading books I don’t enjoy is like walking through mud face first. I just can’t do it. I have a bunch of popular books I have started and dismissed halfway through because, I could not face opening them again. A “books we hate” post could be a rousing discussion. Or as my high school music teacher tried to persuade his students, “Never say you hate something, instead, say you don’t understand it.” And he thought no one was listening to him!

One book I finally got through was The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. A classic work, if ever there was one. My mom tried to get me to read it as a kid, and I HATED it. Or as Mr. Music Teacher taught me to say, I did not understand it. Well finally at 60 I found my love for Tolkien’s writing and read through his Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well. It took me the better part of last year but I LOVED it! I had tried a number of times to read his work, throughout my adult life and just did not have the patience for it…but once I did, let’s just say, I fell for these incredibly dense and beautiful pieces of literature. Beyond that, Tolkien can describe the passing of time like no one else I have read. I was so impressed by the multitude of descriptions of mornings and evenings,I felt like I received a poetic education subliminally. I finally entered in and got lost in this author’s work- a gift!

And maybe that’s what we want with our reading. We want many things, but especially a place we can enter in, get lost AND find ourselves simultaneously. I am not sure. But I think there is something we seek, find, and lose all at the same time when all the boxes for our reading desires are checked. We know when we find it…or maybe that’s just my take.

I love discovering a book that takes me away, and yet, when I need to leave, I long to return. I wonder, does every great book have that? Can it be extracted, discerned? The books that have left the deepest footprints in my life, surprisingly have been stories. Fiction. Yet, I have only over the past 8-10 years started reading more fiction. Why was this? I used to dismiss fiction as a waste of time. I recognize how foolish this is in retrospect. One can learn as much from a well told story as one can from any self-help or non-fiction title.

Growing up as an only child, I sought books often. The books on my mother’s shelf, the books I was gifted, books that I discovered that took me away, set me onto adventures and left me longing for more. The company of books, and notebooks became my playground. The library- my favorite place, and the place I would hide during free period in my brief junior and high school years.

I love the way reading slows me down, causing me to pause, be still. I love how it draws me to quietness. I love how if I choose well, there’s overlap and a wonderful synchronicity that occurs in my reading and real life. I love that reading can introduce new vocabulary, and take me places with words, I may otherwise never go.

If you would like to share your own love for books, latest bookstack, book discovery or “must read”, join me in the upcoming months as I hope to share a bit more of my reading life, and hope to create a conversation that keeps on going! Also I look forward to book suggestions for 2025. Though my To Read Stack is overflowing.

You can keep up with my reading efforts at Goodreads. I am continuing to refrain from participating in the other social media platforms.

In my next post (trying not to make them so long) I will share a few thoughts on my current book stack. I look forward to hearing what you’re reading!

Thanks for reading,

Enthusiastically, Dawn