Mom(‘)s Reading

If I could shut out the world and have one evening to myself – an evening without the nagging to do list or the messy house or the crying kids at bedtime – I would whisk myself away to a quiet fireside oasis. There I would sink, curled up in an extra large armchair and draped in a blanket with a glass of wine or tea in my hand (depending on my mood). Or maybe, I’d escape to this little garden retreat. And then, I would drift away from this fantasy into a different world altogether – one where I am someone else and someplace else. One where I am right in the middle of something exciting.

I love reading. Nothing gives me a break from my own head as much as a good book. I was totally that bookish little girl you imagine, minus the dorky glasses. As I grew into a young woman, I discovered so much of my life between page turns. And now, when life simply becomes too much, I know no better way to break away from myself than to enter into a good story.

Unfortunately, 2012 was a bad year for my library. I read only thirteen books last year, which pretty much means that it is the worst reading year I have had in a long time – maybe forever. I would like to blame this lackadaisical literary list on becoming a Mom to a second child, but realistically, for the amount of time I spent doing nothing but nursing, I should have been able to get through twice as many books! The real culprit behind this poor showing is that I simply did too many other things in 2012. It isn’t anything to be ashamed of. I started blogging more. I dipped my feet into professional photography again. And yes, I chased after two kidlets until I went to bed every night too tired to even hold up a book in front of my face.

That’s just the way it is with motherhood, isn’t it? We expect ourselves to do all the things until we are unable to do anything more – not even take ten minutes before sleep to just decompress from the day.

2013 will be different.

This year, I want to encourage you to take a few minutes each day to read. Let it sweep you away from your life, if only for a minute. Invite quiet into your life. And let’s do it together.

I am extraordinarily pleased to introduce my new baby: #MomsReading. It is my new project, and I hope it will become yours too. #MomsReading is an online book club meant to bring busy book lovers together to encourage one another to take reading breaks. We’ll pick one book a month to read together and at the end of the month we’ll get chatting. #MomsReading’s home will be right here on my blog, but it will branch out to Twitter and Instagram using the #momsreading hashtag, as well as Facebook, and Goodreads. [While you’re at it, make sure you’re following me in all those places too!]

Mom(‘)s Reading

Our first book for 2013 will be The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. Run out and grab the book because we’ll be discussing it in the last week of February. And throughout the coming month, don’t forget to share how you’re escaping, where you are finding pockets of quiet, and what you think. And feel free to join in whenever you pick up a book, even if it isn’t the group’s chosen book for the month. While you’re at it, grab the reading club’s button for your blog sidebar to let other people know you’re participating too! The more the merrier!

Where would you go if you could escape for an evening? What have you read so far this year? What book do you think we should read next? Are you going to join in with #MomsReading?

*although this reading project is called #MomsReading, it is not limited to just Moms. Please join us!

Follow @LauraORourke – Tweet #momsreading