The Lost Art of Reading

I've always been an avid reader, something instilled in me and my siblings by our mother. It probably helped that we grew up on the ranches my dad worked for, without cable TV, video games, NetFlix or YouTube. During the day we played outside to our hearts content, riding bikes, playing school with the neighbor children. 

But when the sun came down and I returned home my trusty friends were waiting for me in books. I traveled with them and through them and learned about the world and places I knew I would probably never see. As a child my favorite books were Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney and any of the Nancy Drew Series books by Carolyn Keene that I could get my hands on. I would read those over and over again. 

In high school I was introduced to Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and I had new favorites that I would read over and over again.

As I got older I would purchase books on my own, usually at thrift stores or borrow from the library, so I didn't have to read the same ones over and over. I wish I had kept track of them so I would remember some of the favorites, but I didn't, darn it!

Then in 2009 I started keeping track of books I read on my blog. Wow! Hard to believe I've been blogging that long! In 2009 I read 24 books; 2010 read 24 books and 2011 read 29 books. 

In 2014 I joined the Goodreads website and started setting goals and logging in my books online.

• 2012 goal was 30, read 26
• 2013 goal was 30, read 18
• 2014 goal was 20, read 33 
• 2015 goal was 35, read 19
• 2016 goal was 35, read 19
• 2017 goal was 12, read 15

For 2018 I set a lofty goal of 25 and I've only read 7. I am way behind and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get to that goal considering there are only 2 and a half more months left in the year.

I believe the reason for not reading as much as I used to is Youtube. Yep, Youtube videos are my new obsession! In the past before bed I would grab my book and get into my bed for a good read before falling asleep...now I grab my Kindle and watch Art Tutorials on Youtube instead!

I'm feeling a little guilty that I am not reading as much. I'm also feeling a little guilty that I am not blogging as much, but I am so enjoying creating Art, watching Art being created and learning about Art. I guess "to every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  Right now the time for me is Art and there are just not enough hours in the day!