How My Reading Life Has Become More Rich & Full

When you look at my reading life on paper (or Goodreads, let’s be real) it’s definitely one of my saddest looking reading years yet. But when *I* look back on my reading year? I’ve realized my reading life has been even richer since having Riley.

When I was pregnant I always was getting people telling me things like, “aww that’s cute that you think you will have time to read once you have her” or “there’s going to be no need for all those books now!”….and it’s true…I did read less books.

That is a fact. Yes, I did have less free time than before Riley. Yes, I read WAY less books for me. But I did read. (We’ll have a whole other discussion about people not understanding how I have even read as much as I have — I mean, my answer to this is basically as this post I wrote years ago though I do have some more thoughts about it now as a mom that perhaps I will discuss on here at a later date).

But having a baby DID NOT destroy my reading life. In fact, I’d be so bold to argue it made my reading life better.

Do I sometimes miss all that extra reading time I used to have? OF COURSE. Do I miss weekends I could just sit in bed and read all day? YEP. Is my reading life different? It sure is. BUT I STILL READ. And having a baby DID NOT destroy my reading life — it made it even better for me.

Let me tell you all the ways it has made my reading life (and my life in general) better and more rich:

Watching Riley fall in love with books has been the coolest thing of my reader life

Honestly this experience of watching Riley fall in love with books has been better than anything in my life. It’s worth all the books I didn’t read this year or in the almost 18 months since she was born.

I cannot explain what it is like — to see something that has been something so important to you for your whole life become the thing that lights up your child’s eyes? PRICELESS. I’d give up even more of my reading time for that. I think watching it has made me fall in love with reading even more.

This child LOVES her books. Most of her day is spent with her sitting in front of her various bookshelves reading her books to her self and her bringing books to me to read to her. She’s engaged when I read and laughs and gets excited for all her favorite parts. She’s so attentive when I read.  When SHE “reads” to herself she just rambles and rambles loudly as if she’s actually reading it.

To genuinely see her love books the way she does? It melts my heart.  If I’ve done anything right in my life, it’s this. I think it’s a combination of her personality (I know lots of book loving people whose kids don’t love books) and modeling it by reading to her all the time AND for her to see me read and enjoy it. I will take out my book and sneak in 10 or 15 minutes here or there because I want to but also I WANT HER TO SEE THAT READING IS IMPORTANT TO ME. I don’t just save it for when she is asleep.

Reading with her is my favorite part of every day — I live for reading books with her curled up in my lap, I live for hearing her say “here” and shoving a book in my face and I live for those 15-20 minutes we slow it down in our bed reading books before we put her down for bed. It’s just added this whole other layer to my reading life.

Related: Bedtime Books For Babies & Young Toddlers

I feel like the ~quality~ of my reading life has improved 

1) I feel like I used to be so focused on reading A LOT of books that I found myself skipping larger books or books that aren’t as fast-paced in favor of short and quick reads. Not saying those books aren’t good — not at all — but I was skipping a lot of really great books just because I wanted to have a higher number of books read. (This is one of the reasons I didn’t do a Goodreads challenge one year). It’s been nice to not focus on the number of books I’m reading because it’s just generally not going to be that high anyways.

2) I feel like this slowing down of my reading life has been much needed. I feel like for a long time I’ve been on overdrive with my reading life. I’ve just devoured and devoured books without coming up for air since I started blogging in 2010. And while I love devouring books it’s been kind of nice to slow it down — even if it wasn’t intentional on my part.

Sometimes we find that we’ve been living life so fast and something happens that snaps us into a slower pace that we didn’t realize we needed. That’s been me and my reading life. I didn’t realize I needed to SLOW IT DOWN.

I don’t feel panicked when it takes me a while to finish a book. It’s been nice to linger with books in ways that I would have just tried to finish as fast as I could to get to the next one.

I’ve been more intentional about what I’m reading

I don’t have as much time so I am SO ruthless about what I choose to read with my time. So I’m truly reading what *I* want to read. I’m not bothering with books that don’t excite me. I’m not reading things because everyone else is or because I feel obligated in any way.

When you don’t have as much time to read it makes you realize you don’t want to waste any time with books you don’t want to truly read. I know that should be obvious, even before her, but book blogging has always influenced my reading habits and I would say yes to more things and take more chances on books just because I *HAD* more time.

I’m just so much more intentional about my book selection and I think that’s lead to me having SUCH a great reading year in terms of liking so much of what I read. I slowed down the review copies and I’m just picking books that are mostly wins for me and being very selective in what I accept for review consideration.

I appreciate my reading time so much more

I am so much more appreciative and aware of how precious my reading time is now. If I wasn’t working, before I had Riley, I really could read mostly whenever I wanted.

I think sometimes when you have all the time in the world to do something you take it forgranted. (This has totally been my revelation in general with having a kid — what did I do with all my free time before her??? WHY DID I WASTE SO MUCH TIME?? I COULD HAVE CONQUERED THE WORLD).

My reading time is SO sacred to me now. I protect it. I marinate in it. I NEED it. It’s a thing that keeps me grounded in the ebbs and flows of motherhood.

I’ve discovered a whole new world of books to fall in love with

As most of you know, I nannied for many years. I was sort of into the kid book scene because of that but not nearly as much as I am now with Riley. It’s been REALLY fun to discover the wonderful world of kid books. And it’s fun to do it with Riley and find our new favorites.

It’s fun to find and love new authors. It’s fun to read things I haven’t read before. It’s just a fun thing to read books I normally didn’t read.

And the best part? Realizing that (hopefully, Riley’s interests pending) this will be an ongoing adventure. We will get to move into longer picture books and then chapter books and then middle grade.

I’m just going to be discovering new books I wouldn’t have otherwise and do it alongside of Riley. How rich my reading life is and is going to be because of that!

I mean, I think it’s pretty clear….having a baby did NOT destroy my reading life. It made it better to me. Is it different? OH YES. But I have enjoyed it. I’m okay with what my reading life looks like on paper because I know there’s so much more to it.

PLUS the number of books that my Goodreads goal might tell you I’ve read does NOT reflect how many books I’ve actually read this year. We read 6 books every night and anywhere between 5-30 books during the day plus storytimes and things like that. I am reading SO, SO many board and picture books. I feel like I actually read MORE now than ever haha. Some days I feel like that’s all I’m doing.

In case you need some inspiration for YOUR reading life — here’s the upcoming YA releases for 2019 that I’m excited for or if you love adult fiction I have this list full of amazing sounding new books for 2019 that I cannot wait to read.