Reading for Fun

A troll once challenged whether I actually read 76 books last year like I said I did.

First, why would I lie about it?

Second, I did and I’m already on book 53 for this year.

How do I have the time?

The easy answer would be: I don’t have kids and I read a lot during NFL and MLB games, on the couch, next to my husband, while he watches the games.

The better answer?

We make time for what we make time for.

And: I am, truly and naturally, a master time manager. I’m obsessed with getting the most out of my waking time, even if it is for naps and reading for fun (and most of the time for work, lots of work).

I recently learned that, allegedly, the readers and influencers of BookTok read their insane number of books annually because, allegedly, they only read the dialogue.

That appalled me.

That showed me why some are skeptical of real, actual reading.

I also recently learned that reading is down, and maybe even dying.

For me?

Reading has replaced doom scrolling.

Audiobooks have replaced podcasts.

I did not read for fun growing up.

I hated being told what to read, and, although I read a ton for school, for college, for law school, for my law jobs, I could not find books to keep me engaged for fun, outside of those things.

That changed when I found historical fiction (The Nightingale, The Personal Librarian) and atmospheric / intellectual / cozy but not too cozy murder mysteries.

I don’t tell you this to encourage you to read.

Reading, like writing, and really most hobbies, is deeply personal.

But: you need a hobby. You need something wholly separate from your work, that engages you fully and has a mostly positive impact on your life.

Forever, for me, that was tennis and long walks on Lake Michigan.

Now, it’s reading, too (and novice, never to be seen by the public water coloring).

Following on the heels of Louise Penny’s Gamache series and William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series (I read them all last year, the bulk of my 76 books in 2025), I’ve discovered Martin Walker’s Bruno series, devouring books 1 + 2, and staring book 3 (No. 53 of 2026) yesterday.

A healthy, consuming hobby—especially when wild fire smoke interrupts my walks on The Lake.

What’s your consuming hobby?

♥️✌🏻🔥