My Unique Way of Reading Books
Reading has always been one of my favorite ways to spend free time.
I love everything about books, from holding them to flipping through the pages. Honestly, I love the way a book feels in my hands. There is something about the weight of it, the smell of the paper, and the little bend in the pages that makes the whole thing feel different.
I decided to keep my book reviews in one place because books have been part of my healing, my learning, my faith, and honestly, my sanity sometimes. Some have challenged me. Others comforted me. A few made me mad. And a couple made me stop and stare at the wall for a minute because they said something I did not know I needed.
But I need to confess something.
I do not read books the “right” way.
When I start a book, I usually read the introduction or the first chapter first. That part is normal enough. Then I almost always skip to the last chapter.
I know. Some people hate that.
I want to know where we are going.
I like to see how the author lands the plane. Sometimes after reading the end, I go back to chapter two and read straight through like a regular person. Other times, I read the whole thing backward (like the first time I read the Bible through), chapter by chapter, from the ending toward the beginning.
It sounds strange, but it works for me.
I have always been like that in some ways. In my mind, I like to understand the bigger picture. I like to know what I am walking into. Maybe that is part curiosity or control. Maybe that is just how my brain sorts information.
Whatever it is, I have stopped apologizing for it.
I also prefer real books. Actual physical books. I want pages and a cover. Seriously, I want something I can set down beside me, pick back up. There are times when I need to underline, dog-ear, or shove in a receipt for a bookmark because that is what I had nearby.
I have tried audiobooks. I do like them sometimes, especially if I am driving or doing something around the house. But it is not the same for me. I do not take it in the same way. I do not feel as connected to it.
And reading on my phone?
No.
I cannot do it.
My phone already has too much noise in it. Texts, emails, reminders, apps, distractions, and about twelve things I forgot I opened. A book on my phone does not feel like reading to me. It feels like one more thing sitting inside the same little box that already steals enough of my attention.
A real book gives me a different kind of quiet.
I read a little bit of everything, but I do not read much fiction. Every now and then I will, but most of the time I am drawn to books that teach me something. Faith-based books. Memoirs. Mental health books. Books about family, grief, trauma, healing, relationships, parenting, or people who have lived through something and are brave enough to tell the truth about it.
I like books that give me something to carry with me.
Not every book has to change your life. Some books are just good company and then others give you one sentence that stays. Some are just good company. Others give you one sentence that stays. Some make you feel less alone, or help you understand yourself, God, or another person a little differently.
That is what I want this Book Reviews section to be.
Not stiff reviews, literary criticism, and not me pretending to be some polished book expert with a Coke and a perfect reading chair.
Just honest thoughts from me as I read.
Sometimes I may love the book and there are times I may wrestle with it. Most of the time, I may only take one good thing from it. That still counts.
Because books have a way of meeting us where we are.
Even if we start at the beginning, skip to the end, and somehow read our way back home.