“Reading Journeys” is a list of personal reading projects I have set for myself over the years. It’s fun to set some personal goals, with no time constraints, and travel a different direction for awhile.  Please click on the title of each journey to see my list of books read and books I intend to read along each path.

Journey 1:  May Sunshine Light Your Day

When November arrives in the Pacific Northwest, it brings deep darkness and rain. Most of us living here actually like the rain and understand Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s advice: “The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.” But that doesn’t mean we don’t long for sunshine on those long, dark, wintery days. One of my favorite things to do in winter, on a dark and dreary day, is to read a book that takes place in sunnier climates. I love to immerse myself in the written sunlight, and then look up to be startled by the dark contrast outside my window…

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Journey 2:  Reading Pearl

The little book I reviewed last week, Christmas Day in the Morning, reminded me how much I love the work of Pearl S. Buck.  Her writing is so beautiful and her stories so compelling, whether written for adults or children.  She’s an absolute favorite, and I decided that during this coming year I will give myself the gift of reading more of her work…

 

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Journey 3:  Reading Miss Read

Dora Saint, whose pseudonym is Miss Read, wrote two series set in two English villages that she called Fairacre and Thrush Green. I started reading the Fairacre books and fell totally in love with them. They are such lovely, gentle reads, and I am completely captured by life in the village of Fairacre as told through the eyes of the village school teacher. My goal is to read all of Dora Saints books…and enjoy every minute of it.

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Journey 4:  Reading Nevil Shute

Some authors, over time, weave themselves into your reading life! Nevil Shute has done just that for me. I was in high school when I read my first book by him, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I read another book by him and just loved the experience. I am slowly reading my way through his list of books!

 

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Journey 5:  WANDERLUST: Reading the World, (an ongoing personal project)

It is important to me, as a “citizen of the world,” that I broaden my reading experience even more during this time of increasing nationalism. I truly believe the motto of the American Field Service (now known as AFS Intercultural Programs):

 

“Walk together, Talk together,
O ye peoples of the Earth,
For then, and only then,
Shall ye have peace.”

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Journey 6: WANDERLUST: Reading the States (an ongoing personal project)

I am enjoying my “Wanderlust: Reading the World” ongoing personal reading project so much that I’ve decided to expand it by also reading a book from each of the 50 states. (That inspiration came from my blogging friend, Cath, at Read_Warbler.)  I’ll call it “Wanderlust: Reading the States”.

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Journey 7: My Garden Reading

One of my favorite things to do is read books about gardens, gardeners, and gardening! I find these books endlessly fascinating and inspiring…

 

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Journey 8:  My Anti-Racist Education, (an ongoing personal project)

“The opposite of racist isn’t ‘not racist.’ It is ‘anti-racist.’ What’s the difference? One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti-racist. One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an anti-racist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist. There is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist.”
― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist

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Journey 09:  A New Fascination: Korea, (an ongoing personal project)

During this long year of quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I have discovered the pleasurable “escape” of watching Korean dramas. Our 14-year-old Grandson is a great BTS fan, and is interested in learning the language, so we were on alert for all things Korean. I don’t remember exactly how we found it, but we watched our first K-drama, enjoyed it immensely, and then continued on from there. For us, it has been a refreshing change of pace from the things we had been watching, a fun connection with our Grandson’s interests, and we discovered our own new fascination with Korean culture.

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Journey 10:  B’s Reading Challenge

To paraphrase Jane Austen, B has been “my constant companion for these 38 years.” We’ve influenced each other tremendously and shared many things during those years, but as readers we have always been on two independent paths…

 

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Journey 11:  My Holiday Reading

I do love reading holiday books! In the last few years, I’ve usually started my holiday reading by the end of September. It’s a refreshing change from my Autumn focus on mysteries and  Halloweenish reading, and I find I enjoy it more and more each year.