I never much liked reading as a kid

I thought I'd try and keep it simple. Keep it short. Or more properly known as keep it secret, keep it safe... oh wait, no that's not right.

I enjoy reading. I enjoy it a lot. The problem is I feel like I am a very picky reader. I feel like if I am spending the time to sit down and read a book for a number of hours it better be good, well it better be great. I need books that tell a great story and keep me interested, wondering what is going to happen until the very end. Because I set my standards so high I find I am from time to time disappointed. I also have a strong distaste for books about the war which I think can be traced back to reading "I Am Fifteen-and I Don't Want to Die." This book should have been of interest to me as a child but it was just awful, perhaps that is because it is depressing. I should also say I don't like depressing books - I hated every moment of "The Catcher in the Rye" (this isn't surprising as angsty teens annoy me in real life let alone in a 276 page novel).

Seeing as I find books so hard to like I have turned to books of a more... academic? nature. Lately I spend my time in the Communication and Culture section of Chapters. It isn't that I don't like a good fiction I just feel like I have a much better understanding of what I am getting out of books about culture and feminism. It is something I am expected to critically analyze and use my brain with. I'm officially done with "easy reads" for the sake of fun. Maybe I could like them but I often find them dull because they lack depth.

Most recently, on my nightstand sits three books with another eagerly waiting on the wings to make its way down.

The first, which I have been reading for some time (not because it is not of interest to me but because final exams, Mexico, and Moncton ate a lot of my time this summer) is In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Changing the World by Carl Honore. It has been great. It makes you look at what you value and asks if we are really getting the most out of life by rushing through it. It helps justify doing important things like taking time to yourself, taking a holiday, working fewer hours all for the sake of a happier life. Interesting and simple.

The second book on my stack is a past book club book I've yet to finish. I raced through it in an attempt to complete it for the meeting but I fell a few chapters short. Since then I haven't picked it back up again. Don't let this fool you, Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden was a very interesting read. A little slow going it told a tale of war - a tale I thoroughly enjoyed. Boyden is an excellent storyteller, he shifts from one perspective to the next, one character to another all seamlessly while leaving you wondering exactly how it all comes together in the end. The main reason I've yet to pick it up again is because I'm trying to finish In Praise of Slow first.

Third book and my most recent purchase is Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work is Done by Susan Douglas. I won't lie, I am a sucker for any book that is critical of the lack of feminism in the hearts of young women today. I can't help it. I haven't even cracked this yet but I am very eager to see what it says. Seeing as I'm on this track I thought I'd mention a great book I read a few years ago along the same lines - and a book I feel some girls should be forced to read; Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy. It takes women to task for achieving "empowerment" by turning into super feminine versions of themselves where they actually treat women disrespectfully. Good read.

The book that resides on my shelf awaiting my attention is Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman. I feel like he is one of the quintessential writers that a good modern day comms student should read. The book is a compilation of essays so I hope to read a few intermittently.

Now that I've laid that all out for you I will say that I of course love fiction, especially the Harry Potter series (can't wait for the next films).

I'll close by saying that my favorite book, the biggest book I've ever read, and likely the book I read the fastest was Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Because I had never seen the movie this book swept me away with a powerful story of survival, love found and lost, and amazing characters. Looking back I know that reading it fast helped me get through it because some of the sections were long. I suggest you try it out I think it has something for everyone but I can definitely see it being more of a "chick" book with the underlying love story. I've tried many times to convince many people so maybe I can convince you to try it! But promise me if you hate it don't tell me. I still swoon at the thought of Rhett Butler being such a bad ass.

So friends, what are you reading? And what is your favorite book?

Today I learned:

• Thunderstorms are great - until they keep flooding your basement
• To stop waiting and just do. Sometimes it is necessary.

I am grateful for:

• In the movie When Harry Met Sally... I am happy that they included all the cute couples throughout
• Living with my brothers because sometimes they cook for me! I love that.