Reading My Life Away

When I’m not chatting with clients, visiting listings, deep diving the MLS and - oh yeah - being a partner and mom, I’m reading. So far, I’ve read over 50 novels this year. Today I want to share how I get this done, because if there’s one thing I hear all the time it is: “HOW DO YOU HAVE TIME TO READ SO MUCH?”

Here’s HOW I do it: I have a Kindle for bedtime/lights off reading. It is the kind that doesn’t bother your eyes. I have the Libby & Hoopla app on my phone for easy access to free books and audiobooks. I am always listening to a book and, please don’t tell me that listening to a novel doesn’t count as reading. If you’re meeting new characters and they’re transporting your imagination and keeping you company throughout the day, it’s reading! I also love an old-fashioned physical book. I don’t want to think about how much of my “fun money” I’ve spent on books, but I make myself feel better about money spent in a few key ways: I try to avoid Amazon and B&N as much as possible, and instead shop for books locally and even used at places like Crawford’s Books in the Hollywood Park neighborhood or East Village Bookshop in East Sac.

Here’s WHY I do it: Because life can be taxing, boring, and repetitive. Also, fiction (of all kinds, my tastes are varied!) helps me practice empathy for characters, gratitude for my life and those in it, and insprires me to be creative. I also read a lot because it forces me to stop, sit, and rest.

Here’s WHEN I read: As mentioned, audiobooks keep me company while I’m at the grocery store, doing the dishes, or driving to listing appointments and showings. They also help me ignore my children during those moody after-school hours when everyone just needs to eat and relax and stay away from one another lest a family-wide fight ensues. I also read at night instead of watching TV. This was a big adjustment for me coming out of the Pandemic when I watched so much TV. It’s true…I got to the point where I had watched every single episode of The Golden Girls. After a couple years of hunkering down at home and watching it all, I was ready to double-down on something I felt was a bit more enriching and interesting. (I still watch TV though).

If you’re curious what I’m reading & loving, I try to provide at least two book reviews a month in my e-newsletter. I’m also happy to chat privately and make some personal recommendations. I love a lot of literature, including the classics, sci-fic, fantasy, & rom-coms/romance. Recently, some titles that have made a big splash in my world are Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow & Cloud Cuckoo Land. I am also an ACOTAR fan (iykyk), and am trying to work my way through the complete works of Neil Gaiman.

Are you also a reader? Let’s be friends, and thanks for reading this!