I tend to read a lot even though I am very busy. Between being a full-time teacher, published-author, writer, and part-time student, I find creative ways to get books into my literary diet. Mostly, I get my "books on" through audiobooks and Kindle-on-a-treadmill.
I listen to audiobooks in my car. Audiobooks are books narrated onto compact discs (CDs). I read during my drives to work, class, and everywhere I go. I live in Toronto which has an amazing public library system with over 100 branches. Wherever I find myself in the city, I visit the local library. (I love visiting my local branch too.) There, I borrow several audiobooks. Of course this means my selection is restricted to what is available at the branch. Also, not every novel becomes an audio book but that is part of the fun. I get to read things that I normally do not read like The Grapes of Wrath (I rated 5 stars on Goodreads) and Pride and Prejudice (2 stars).
Another way I get books into my busy schedule is my Kindle. The Kindle is a brand of e-reader which one can read electronic books. I find it useful for reading novels due to its portability and its size. I purchased my Kindle before taking my first international trip to Europe in December 2016. Since then, I use my Kindle when I go to the gym. I put it on the treadmill, increase the font size to one that is large enough to see, and then start running (I am currently training for a 10km). I love doing this because it actually makes running fun for me. Instead of staring out the window, the minutes I have left, or some dessert-making reality show on the Food network (yes, the Food network at a gym), I get to inhabit the world of my characters, read work by my favourite writers, and get more inspiration for my own books.
All that said, I do read regular books. I have quite the collection and it always seems to keep growing. However, I read real books much more slowly (much, much more slowly).
I love to write reviews of what I read on Goodreads and I have written several and share them on my Facebook page. (Check out my Goodreads page.) I am a little slow with technology, it dawned on me that I could put these reviews on my Goodreads blog. So I started doing that. And then, this morning, it dawned on me, I can write reviews of What I am Reading? on my blog. So today will be the first official day I do that.
I listen to audiobooks in my car. Audiobooks are books narrated onto compact discs (CDs). I read during my drives to work, class, and everywhere I go. I live in Toronto which has an amazing public library system with over 100 branches. Wherever I find myself in the city, I visit the local library. (I love visiting my local branch too.) There, I borrow several audiobooks. Of course this means my selection is restricted to what is available at the branch. Also, not every novel becomes an audio book but that is part of the fun. I get to read things that I normally do not read like The Grapes of Wrath (I rated 5 stars on Goodreads) and Pride and Prejudice (2 stars).
Another way I get books into my busy schedule is my Kindle. The Kindle is a brand of e-reader which one can read electronic books. I find it useful for reading novels due to its portability and its size. I purchased my Kindle before taking my first international trip to Europe in December 2016. Since then, I use my Kindle when I go to the gym. I put it on the treadmill, increase the font size to one that is large enough to see, and then start running (I am currently training for a 10km). I love doing this because it actually makes running fun for me. Instead of staring out the window, the minutes I have left, or some dessert-making reality show on the Food network (yes, the Food network at a gym), I get to inhabit the world of my characters, read work by my favourite writers, and get more inspiration for my own books.
All that said, I do read regular books. I have quite the collection and it always seems to keep growing. However, I read real books much more slowly (much, much more slowly).
I love to write reviews of what I read on Goodreads and I have written several and share them on my Facebook page. (Check out my Goodreads page.) I am a little slow with technology, it dawned on me that I could put these reviews on my Goodreads blog. So I started doing that. And then, this morning, it dawned on me, I can write reviews of What I am Reading? on my blog. So today will be the first official day I do that.
What Am I Reading? 1. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
I read Clayton Byrd Goes Underground on my Kindle while on my treadmill mostly and the last couple pages in my bed, under the covers (the best place to read). Author Rita Williams-Garcia books are so catchy. I have read almost all of them. I truly felt the music in Clayton Byrd Goes Underground-- the blues, the tunes from Clayton's blues harp (his harmonica), and Cool Papa's guitar Wah-Wah-nita. This book took me on an emotional journey. It felt like one continuous thread as the reader follows one day in the life of Clayton Byrd that changed everything for him. Having dealt with my own grief over the past six months (sudden deaths of my younger brother passed in July and my publisher passed away in November), I completely related to Clayton's desire to hold on to what little physical reminders he had left of the man who had the most influence in his life, Cool Papa. I felt Clayton's pain and his desire to run away from it all when those around him did not understand the losses he experienced, his emotions, or even his narcolepsy. Like all of Rita's books, there is this realism and sadness but also tons of hope and humour. I don't want to give it all away here either so I will stop describing here. I was so happy to learn this week that Clayton Byrd Goes Underground also won the 2018 NAACP Image Award for Young Adult and Middle Grade Literature. Congratulations, Ms. Rita! Lastly, I really loved the afterword as well that gave the background, research, and inspiration for this story as well as history of hip hop and the blues.
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