What I Read Growing Up

I was very lucky to grow up in a household where my parents not only encouraged my brother and I to read, but were also very open to buying us books. As if we didn't get enough to read in our bimonthly library trips, we used to spend hours in our local bookshops, agonizing over which book we would be bringing home. And when we got those books home, we treated them like gold: read them individually, read them together, read them aloud, read them over and over.  And, as you can see, I've managed to hang on to quite a few of them!

One reason these books means so much to me is that we weren't allowed to watch television as children. So with the exception of the occasional Disney or Studio Ghibli film, all of the stories and characters I was exposed to came to me through my books. So I've taken as best care of them as I can and will treasure them forever as my first lessons in storytelling and my first windows into other worlds.

My Dream Reading Space

I share a lot of my interests with the Internet: journaling, freelancing, films, and of course, reading. However, one thing I never really share with you guys is just how much I love interior design and decorating. I love how you can transform a space just with furniture and a few decor items. In fact, if I ever was to go back to school, I would seriously consider getting a degree in interior design.

So when Arhaus.com reached out to me to see if I would write a post about my dream reading space, I was super excited by the opportunity to combine my love of interiors with my love for reading. So I've scoured Arhaus and some of my favorite home furnishings brands and have pulled together a few things I personally would love to have in my dream reading space.


Seating
I've always liked the idea of a window bench, but they're not always the most comfortable place to sit and read for hours. So in my dream reading space, I would prefer an armchair like (1) this one from Cost Plus World Market. I love this grey, slightly textured fabric, and as someone with short legs, the matching ottoman is an absolute essential!

The reason I prefer an armchair is that you get the comfort of a couch but with the placement options of a chair. As someone who likes to switch their furniture around every so often, I think it's important to get pieces that can be used in a variety of locations. I also love to get furniture in neutral colors so I can add pops of color and pattern with accessories like this (2) pillow. I'm really into oranges and yellows at the moment, which is why this  (3) yellow knit throw from West Elm caught my eye. Even though I live in sunny and warm Southern California, I'd pick a chunky knit over a thin woven throw any day!

Essentials
Of course, every reading nook needs some bookshelves! My dream bookshelf scenario would include not only shelves all along the walls but also shelves with glass doors. I know, I know, why would I want to put a glass door between me and all my lovely books? Because of dust, that's why!

I found (1) these shelves on Arhaus.com and kind of fell in love. Not only do I really love that they have glass doors, but I also love that the thin wooden details along the front of the glass doors remind me of traditional Japanese sliding doors. Am I the only one that sees it? Anyways, I can imagine a bunch of these stacked up against the wall opposite my chair, so that I can see all my books as I sit by my window!

Now, I do a lot of my reading at night, so this means that I need a good light. Thankfully, Arhaus has quite a huge lighting section and it was really hard to pick just one! In this dream reading space scenario, I'm picturing hanging (2) this kind of old-fashioned pendant light right above my little armchair for the perfect nighttime reading light.

Extras
One thing I've learned about myself over the past couple of years is that I cannot read and eat at the same time. I either end up with food all over my book or so completely distracted that I have to go back later and reread the same passage. But I'm a big believer in a cup of tea with my reading, which means that my dream reading space has to have a place for me to place my mug!

At first, I was thinking of a slim side table, but then I came across (1) this amazing coffee table made out of petrified wood. I personally really love incorporating tree stumps into my home (I actually have a stump with a face carved into it on my hearth right now!). It brings a little bit of the outdoors in, softens a more modern, minimalist look and is actually one of my favorite design quirks. So yes, this amazing tree stump coffee table would be going in my dream reading space.

Because I wouldn't want to ruin such a beautiful table, I would place my mugs on (3) these crystal coasters from Anthropologie. And as for the mugs themselves, I would love a few (2) clear mugs like you see above. My grandmother used to have a bunch of small, clear mugs and now every time I drink tea out of anything clear I can't help but think of her!


So those are some of the elements I would love to have in my dream reading space or window nook. I think it's a pretty good reflection of my personal style: a bit simple, but with a few quirky and natural elements as well. As readers, I know we've all dreamed about our ideal reading nooks or home libraries. So my question to you is: what's one thing you'd love to have in your dream reading space?




Disclaimer: This post was created in cooperation with Arhaus.com to be featured on their social media channels. All opinions and product selections were my own. This post was NOT sponsored.

On TBRs and Best Laid Plans

Another readathon has come and gone, which means that today's post should be a reading wrap up. And it definitely would have been, if I had actually read anything last week!

Don't get me wrong, I was excited to participate in this latest Bout of Books readathon. I knew my week was going to be a bit crazy, but I had my TBR all picked out and thought I could manage to finish at least the two books I was already in the middle of. As it turns out, although my week was really busy, I actually had plenty of time to read. The problem was I just didn't feel like reading at all.

I've noticed this trend a lot since I became an active member of the online reading community. Although I don't normally create to be read lists, when I do I am rarely able to stick to them. I often find myself distracted by other books I have sitting around or, even stranger, lose the desire to read at all and waste time watching tv or YouTube videos instead.

This has always been incredibly confusing to me, because I am a list maker extraordinaire. According to my parents, I wrote my first list at the tender age of 3 years old, jotting down my "to do list" in meaningless scribbles on scrap paper. I'm not afraid to admit I get a little thrill from checking off list items I've accomplished and my bullet journal was possibly the best thing to happen to my productivity levels in years. So why do I get so thrown by TBRs? Aren't they just lists of books waiting to be read and checked off?

It's possible this is an unforeseen product of my years as an English Literature student, during which any reading lists I wrote were full of required texts. Every time I put a book on a list, it starts to feel assigned, like it's something I absolutely have to read, and that immediately puts me off.

Are there any other list-makers out there who have a hard time sticking to TBRs? Any tips on how to get around this TBR block?

Mood Reading (and What I'm Currently Reading)

A few days ago, Leslie from the wonderful Booktube channel Words of a Reader made a video about mood reading. In the video, Leslie talks about how sometimes she comes across books that have to be read at just the right time, giving the example of how she attempted to read Anne of Green Gables several times before she was finally able to read it all the way through and fall in love with the story. Today I wanted to pick up on that discussion and put my own spin on it.

I am the definition of a mood reader. My reading taste and mood can and does switch often and dramatically. This generally means I have several books on the go at once, something I know can actually be quite stressful for some readers. Maybe this is because I was an English Literature major and got used to reading multiple books at once. Maybe it's an unconscious attempt to read "all the books" at the same time. Who knows.

Generally speaking, there has to be something very special or engaging about a book to keep me completely occupied all on its own.

The best way to understand this reading style of mine might be to look at what I am currently reading. First up, we have two books that I have been working on (embarrassingly) since last summer. Kenzaburo Oe's Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness is a collection of four short novels that I have been dipping in and out of, reading only a few pages at a time. Alhough this might suggest I should just give up on trying to read this very complicated, literary collection, I continue to enjoy the reading experience, no matter how sporadic it becomes.

Japanese Homes and Lifestyles is a book I'm reading in conjunction with a current writing project and that I turn to only when I'm in need of inspiration or cultural research. Again, while I'm enjoying the reading experience, I haven't found that this alone is enough to keep my attention for more than short bursts.

Which brings us to the books I've picked up most recently. I picked up Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth last week on International Women's Day because I was craving both strong female writing and writing that was familiar to me. This short story collection is exactly what I was looking for and, unlike the Oe collection, I am incapable of putting the book down in the middle of a story.

And finally we have 1st To Die by James Patterson. Looking at the other books I've mentioned, this one might seem completely random, which actually illustrates my point about mood reading better than anything else. While I am completely in love with Lahiri's writing, I also spent most of Friday night watching true crime dramas on television and found myself decidedly in the mood for something different. My mom has been reading Patterson's Women's Murder Club books almost exclusively for the past month or so and suggested I start with this first book in the series. Again, this turned out to be the perfect fit for my current reading mood and I will probably finish this before I finish any of the others. Or at least, I will try to before my mood changes again!

Now it's your turn to keep the discussion going. What do you think about this idea of mood reading? Do you keep multiple books on the go for each potential mood, or do you prefer to finish one story in its entireity before moving on to the next?

Books as Memories (Or, Why I Will Always Love Physical Books)

Ebooks or physical books? This is not a new discussion in the age of Kindles and digital editions of our favorite novels. Even so, this was never something I ever really thought much about. But in the past few months I've taken to borrowing Kindle editions of books from my library and I've had plenty of opportunity to decide which reading experience I prefer.

Convenience
Obviously, an e-reader wins when it comes to convenience. If you have an ereader, you have direct access to so many books. You can purchase them from so many different online stores or borrow them from your library's digital collection. You can travel with a whole library at your fingertips and yet so much more room in your bags.

Ease of Use
I'm sure we've all had that embarrassing and painful experience of using your phone while lying on your back, only to drop it right on your face. I can speak from experience that this experience is even worse when it's a 400-plus page book you're dropping on yourself. Kindles and other e-readers quite literally streamline the reading process by encapsulating thousands of chunky texts in a slim tablet. When I lived in San Francisco, my Kindle completely revolutionized my public transportation experience. It's much easier to hang from a handhold on the bus and turn the page on a Kindle than to try and flip through a worn out paper back. If you have bad eyes, you have the option to enlarge the text and if you like to annotate, you can do so without worrying about losing your pencil.

Books as Memories
Having said all that, it may seem like I am writing an advertisement for the Kindle or, at the very least, prefer ebooks to physical books. That could not be more wrong. Regardless of convenience or how easy reading becomes with an e-reader, I will always have a strong love for physical books as little memory objects.

While an ebook is simply a bunch of pixels and coding that happen to come together to tell a story, all of my physical books bear physical scars of each reading. Most of my books have worn looking spines and many also contain notes and doodles in the margins. Dog ears and sticky notes run wild. But most importantly, each mark and fold is a physical reminder of the time and place where I consumed that story.

What do you think? Do you prefer ebooks or physical books, and why?