Read For Fun?

I have a confession to make. I have read very little fiction in the last nine years. About nine years ago, I had my son, and around that same time, I started to feel guilty for reading fiction.  I still continued to read at that same pace, except they all had an education focus. Somewhere in my own head, I convinced myself that reading anything but work focused books was not a good use of my time.

I have started to push back on my thinking. I know I need to read fiction to build my empathy skills. I also believe that I should read more fiction because I enjoyed it in the past without guilt.

I think of our students who may avoid a particular genre because they were told that they should read  “real books.” I know my son was told he needs to read something besides graphic novels.  I helped him pushed back this summer and found several graphic novels for him to enjoy.  I also pushed back on my own thinking and have grabbed a couple of fiction books for me. This summer, my son and I will rediscover our joy of reading what we want and for pleasure. I think we are on the right track both of us were up late reading last night.

We both are open to book recommendations.