Finding Time to Read

Last week saw the birth of the International Genealogy Book Club. Over the weekend members shared to be read books in piles, shelves, and digital reading stashes. Many found another book to add to the pile.

An administrator asked, "What are some of your tricks to carve more reading time out of your day?"

As someone who read over 300 books in 2018 and over 225 in 2019, I asked myself what my tricks are. I came up with a few things:

1) Listening to audio books on my commute to work and whenever I drive longer distances. Generally speaking if my drive is more than 5 minutes, I listen to an audio book. Yes, I occasionally need a break from it. I sometimes allow myself one work commute (either going or coming home) to clear my mind. If I get tired of listening on the road, I change to the radio, a CD, or downloaded music for awhile. However, I listen to audio books the majority of the time I drive.

2) Reading during lunch break. I usually either take my own lunch or grab something in the library's cafe which I take to my office. This allows me to read while I'm eating, and it gives me about a half-hour to read without interruption afterwards.

3) Reading as I man the service desk in the mornings. I open the library most days. Most students simply print assignments from our computers or retrieve print jobs sent from their rooms. Most of my job responsibilities require special software not available at the front desk. I do not usually get a lot of questions during this time so it's a good time to read.While it amounts to only 15 minutes or so, it enables me to knock out a few pages.

4) Kitty cuddle time. My cats love to sit on my lap as I read. I can even pet them and read. Turning pages may interrupt the petting momentarily, but they wait for me to resume! I read faster than I used to read. If I'm reading fiction or popular non-fiction, my rate is roughly a page per minute. If I'm reading an NGSQ article that needs to be studied or something I may use in a presentation, it takes a little longer, depending on how many notes I take, references I check, etc.

5) Morning devotional time. I read through the Bible each year using a reading plan--usually one in the YouVersion Bible app. I also use some sort of through the Bible daily devotional. These books usually contain one or two pages per day. I also read some other Christian work during the devotion time. It may be a book on Christian living, a Bible study, a devotional commentary, or other book. I try to read a chapter per day (or its equivalent).

6) A chapter per day plan. This works really well for books of short stories or essay-driven books. For example, Generations and Change offers 16 academic essays on genealogy or family history. Reading one essay/chapter per day allows me to finish it in 16 days.

7) As I catalog books. I must confess to reading every picture book which comes across my desk to add to the collection. We don't purchase a lot--usually only the Caldecott winners. However, I enjoy these momentary escapes into my childhood! We receive gift collections. Most books end up in an annual book sale, but I will hold an interesting book destined for the sale in my office to read during lunch and then put it in a box heading to the book sale room.

8) On the plane. If I'm flying, I usually read something. Sometimes it is a book; sometimes it may be NGSQ.

Book Love

Tung, Debbie. Book Love. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 2019.

Cartoonist Debbie Tung's book will be adored by bibliophiles everywhere. It's not really a graphic novel. It's more of a collection of thoughts on books and reading with some of them serialized over several pages. It makes a perfect gift for the book lover. I received an electronic copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

Barking with the Big Dogs

Babbitt, Natalie. Barking with the Big Dogs: On Writing and Reading Books for Children. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2018.

This interesting collection of essays written by author Natalie Babbitt, best known for Tuck Everlasting, reflects her views on books, literature, and writing. One gains insight into the author and her work by understanding what her likes and dislikes are. She always writes for a fifth grader, yet her books are enjoyed by younger and older children as well as adults. She really doesn't enjoy classic literature that much, but she's married to a husband who does. She wasn't that great of a student, yet her books are read by schoolchildren all over. Readers will appreciate these essays. I received an electronic galley from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well-Read Black Girl

Edim, Glory, editor. Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves. New York: Ballantine Books, 2018.

Editor Glory Edim shares authors' brief reflections on their literary influences, primarily in terms of books or their authors. These stories are broken up by short bibliographies of black-women-authored books fitting specific categories. The author's essays include white and black authors, both male and female. I wish Edim's lists included mysteries written by black authors, but it did not. A closing bibliography includes the titles mentioned throughout the book. Since the book is written primarily for "girls," the focus is somewhat feminist. I have read some of the titles. While not all the remaining ones appeal to me, I would like to read several of the classic novels, books about girlhood/friendship, and a few more poetry volumes. I received an advance uncorrected proof by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

On Reading Well

Prior, Karen Swallow. On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2018.

Liberty University professor Karen Swallow Prior discusses twelve literary works in light of Christian virtues portrayed in each. She utilizes other literature, theological and Biblical studies works, philosophy, and classics to reach her conclusions. The work is divided into sections for the cardinal virtues, theological virtues, and heavenly virtues.

Contents include:
Prudence: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding
Temperance: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Justice: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Courage: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Faith: Silence by Shusaku Endo
Hope: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Love: The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy
Chastity: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Diligence: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Patience: Persuasion by Jane Austen
Humility: "Revelation" and "Everything that Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor

These essays would create great discussions in classes covering those works, particularly in Christian liberal arts universities. They could also serve as models for writing essays on literary works. This review is based on an advance review copy received from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an unbiased review.

A Few Thoughts on Albion's Seed

Fischer, David Hackett. Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

This is not a formal review of the classic work Albion's Seed. It's more a few comments and reflections from reading it.

Why did I wait so long to read the entire book? I lived in Cincinnati when the book was published. The public library there was wonderful. They had a copy, but like most books of a genealogical nature, it didn't circulate. I used it several times in the library, but I would only read a small bit each time. I see they own additional copies which circulate now. If they owned them at the time, they were always checked out or in the closed stacks, and I just didn't ask for them. I really should have purchased my own copy. I suspect it was because I didn't want to spend the time it would take to get through a 972 page book packed with information. Fortunately a study group organized by Miriam Robbins was just the thing to make me take the plunge. We'll be concluding our discussion this Saturday evening.

With which culture do I most identify? That's a tough question. There are certain elements of each with which I identify, but I think the Cavalier Culture wins overall. I descend from all four cultures. Surprisingly, although I live in the "Backcountry South", I identify more with the Puritans, Cavaliers, and Quakers. I see some of the Backcountry spirit in some ancestors, but I do not strongly identify with it. I was also surprised at not understanding about half the expressions used in the section. I understood far more Cavalier and Quaker expressions. I even recognized more Puritan expressions than Backcountry ones. Isn't that strange? I'll be happy to sample foods from all four cultures, but there are good things and disgusting ones in each!

My reading list just grew immensely. Fischer's footnotes always included works that captivated my attention. I want to read many of those now.

I don't really enjoy reading about politics that much, but Fischer's conclusion included quite a bit about the ancestors of the United States presidents, the regional cultures from which they came, and how that influenced the president. I found it quite interesting. I know politics played a role in our ancestor's lives. The treatment of politics in a cultural setting is much more appealing than reading about elections and politicians without the context.

One more thing . . . if you haven't read this book, don't delay! Order a new or used copy or check one out from your library and begin reading it! You will not regret the decision. You may choose to read it quickly, but you'll probably want to take your time to digest what you are reading. Obviously if you own your own copy, you will be able to take more time than if you rely on the library's copy.