Reading is good

One thing I've done in recent years is keep a reading log. As I complete books, I just write a little blurb about them. The blurb might include how I found the book, a little on plot and or characters, and my impressions—good, bad, or indifferent.

This has actually been a really helpful exercise for me. Back when I had time/energy to read, I would plow through books very quickly. This is fine, except that retention for any length of time after reading so fast is an issue for me. If I want to really retain a connection to a book, I need to:

• Read it more than once. Generally just not going to happen with me—way too many books and too little time.
• Talk about it. This is the most effective way. I soooo miss my book group in Austin. I really hope I find one here.
• Think on it and write about it. And so my reading log came to be.
  

It's kind of cool to look back and see what I've read. I've even received a couple of emails from random people who stumbled across it and found it helpful in some way.

My major downfall in all this is that I'm truly neglectful in updating it. I'm hoping that by adding a link to What I'm Reading in the sidebar here will help motivate me to update more than twice a year (which is what I managed last year). My goal is to update after reading a couple of books, so that I can actually remember more than just generalities.

Here's hoping!