Reading a litle bit more books in 2018

A year ago I posted lots of criticism to the flood of New Year's resolutions you see everywhere...only to end my post with some resolutions/wishes anyhow.  While ranting, I had a growing feeling of what I wanted to change in my life regardless of the artificial start date.

I'm still not a list maker and I still believe strongly that any improvement point you feel should be picked up whenever you want to improve it (not just at New Year) and that these all should be flexible with a lot of love for yourself because there's always a lot of priorities competing against each other.

So a year ago, I regretted the fact that I was hardly reading any books anymore since I became a mother and since I didn't commute internationally anymore with time on the Thalys and in hotels. In 2018 I had a growing hunger to start reading (more) again.  When you read none, it's easy to  improve your reading result.  Most of the reading happened on vacation and not in my bed as I intended it a year ago.

I started to read the first book "All that I am" during our Easter vacation week in Cannes. It did not read very smoothly so I didn't advance much...and I didn't advance at all in the US in May either. At that point I considered tossing it away without completing.
And yet it was an interesting story line that I knew little about: the German resistance during the pre-WWII years, a socialist diaspora in London hunted by the Nazi's etc. A story of love, friendship and betrayal that won me over in the summer after all. Third time's a charm...third time that I picked up the book, I picked up speed, got more into the story and I finished it.

After that I read a bit more easy thrilling stories. I don't need literature with a capital L and lots of culture, I only want a story that captivates me.

And I enjoyed it. I bought a new book when in the Ardennes when I noticed I'd unexpectedly finish my book "All that I am" during our time off there, to ensure I could keep on reading. I finished my 2 books in the suitcase on vacation in Gran Canaria for the first time in years, so I used the book swap cabinet in the hotel to leave a book behind and get a new one.  And that felt really great.

It was the first time I read Karin Slaughter.  I had to get used to this story as well but it didn't take quite as long as All that I am.  From the start it was thrilling but also a gruesome drama.

Jo Claes has become a classic author in recent years in my book shelf as he brings a good thriller that takes place in Leuven. I always learn about my own city, its unknown locations, history of places etc which is really cool. It adds a new layer to the story for me.

The last book I finished this year was Jodi Picoult's "House Rules".  Jodi can never do anything wrong. Her books always take me from the start. This time I was reading her story about the autistic boy accused of murder at the same time that I was watching Atypical on Netflix. While the situation, the tone of the 2 stories were completely different,  the autistic protagonists talk to the reader/viewer in both stories. That was very insightful and moving and it triggered reflection on how different people can function differently in our society.

This is not an impressive list of course for people who read regularly. But considering that most books were read in the last 5 months of the year and that I haven't read nearly as much in the last 5-6 years, I am quite happy with this list. And I already have my next book ready waiting from Tatiana de Rosnay who's "Her name was Sarah" was very touching so I'm excited to start reading again :).  I bet next year my list will have grown again :).  But I don't set targets.