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Wednesday

I Love Reading - A Dose of Encouragement








The greatest thing about Reading is the fact that it is
one of the easiest hobbies to have.

I was encouraged to read at a young age because my mother was an avid reader using the library as if it were her own personal set of book shelves.









Everyone who worked in the library knew my mum.

When the library started to really confine each person to only 4 books at a time it wasn't good enough for my mum so she got a library card in my gran's name and one in my dad's name and took out the extra books for herself using them.  Of course the librarians knew and just let her do it - all books were always returned and quickly as she needed to come for her next fix of reading material.

We also had several books at home because she used to go to house auctions and buy box loads of books.

So I was intrigued by the books of Enid Blyton such as the The Faraway Tree and of course the Famous Five and the Secret Seven to start with and then on to The Chalet Girls by Elinor Brent-Dyer and Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield.

Eventually I got caught up with Agatha Christie mysteries and fell in love with Miss Marple and Poirot.   I believe that my enjoyment of her novels are one of the reasons why I mostly still tend to pick out Mysteries and crime novels to read.

But that was all years ago so what about my love of reading today.




Why do I read?

Because even though many years have passed it still gives me great pleasure 
to sit down and read.


I get so engrossed in a good book that time slips by so quickly and what do they say?


"Time flies when you are enjoying yourself"

So I am obviously enjoying myself.









Where do I read?

Anywhere at all provided I have something to read.

In the summer months I like to sit in the back garden and read.

I know that some people have a particular place in the house to sit and read but I will sit anywhere although I quite like to be in one of our recliner chairs or have my feet curled up under me on the couch.
I like my comfort!





What do I read?

I'm not a newspaper person at all.

I'm not really a magazine person either.

It used to be books but then it became ebooks as well.






When we travelled we used to have to think about space and weight in our suitcase because of the books we wanted to take on the trip.

When I was going out for the day I wanted to make sure I had a handbag that would hold my current book.

Now with ebooks things have changed and I just have to make sure my handbag is not too small that I can't have my kindle in it






or my iPad because of course I have the Kindle app as well.



But now I am also into reading blogs.

As I mentioned previously I tend to read a lot of crime or murder or mystery stories but with reading more blogs now I get a lot more of a mixture of topics with much more non fiction and how-to tutorials.

However the main book I come back to all the time is the Bible 
because I believe it is God's Word 
so therefore 
it is the most important book to read.





When do I read?

When I am in bed - I am rather a night owl so propping up the pillows and a cold drink beside me is ideal.  My lighted cover for my kindle is good for this so that I don't disturb Fred as he falls asleep.



When I am relaxing by the pool or on the beach on holiday - in fact that is almost all we do on some of our holidays.






When I am waiting for something to cook - unfortunately I get caught up in the story and I am known for burning the sausages!


When I am waiting to meet someone in a coffee shop.


When I have to spend time waiting in the car.


When I am in front of the computer supposedly writing my blog - I can be easily distracted.


Anytime I have some time.





Who do I read?

Well I don't think I can remember the last time I read Enid Blyton.

But I do still read Agatha Christie as you can see in my blog post
  I Love Poirot


I am also fond of books by:      

Randall Arthur
Lynwood Barclay
Terri Blackstock
Sigmund Brouwer
Davis Bunn
Brandilyn Collins
Nelson DeMille
John Grisham
Dee Henderson
Karen Kingsbury
Frank Peretti
Penelope Stokes



I have had the pleasure to meet Randall Arthur (although that is his pen name) when he accepted my request for him to come and speak at a Ladies Brunch I helped to lead in Belgium once a month.

Just like his books he is a lovely, gracious man.


I was also pleased to be involved in the launch of one of 
Davis Bunn's books







Most of the authors listed above are Christian authors and I do prefer to read Christian fictions because of the bad language that I find in most other books and the terrible unhealthy descriptions of despicable acts that people seem to think must be included these days.

Because of that type of thing I stopped reading a book, after a few chapters, one day as I rode the tram home in Belgium and threw the book into the rubbish bin.

I do not believe in putting things into my mind that are 
disgusting or brutal.



So What Would I Recommend?



Often when another woman would ask me to suggest a novel my first thought will be the first one I read by Penelope Stokes called                       
The Blue Bottle Club     
I loved that book and have gone back and read it twice since.



         


Another book I would tell others about is the first one 
I read by Davis Bunn called                   The Presence               

and when you read it you will understand the title.






A non Christian book that my daughter and I both loved and talk about with great affection is 
The Time Traveller's Wife  
and some day I will read it again and review it on the blog.


I have reviewed various books on my blog so if you are looking for a book to read do have a look at the Book Reviews Page  and then enjoy a good read.






I can not finish this blog post without recommending the most important book of all, the book that can change your life forever and I truly mean forever 
- that book is the Bible.


That book can be found in most of the bookshops and libraries.
That book can be found freely on the internet.
That book can be read on a kindle
That book can be read via an app on your or iPad or any other tablet.


There is no excuse for not being able to get a copy of the Bible now but if you would like some advice or help in starting to read it then just head over to Reading The Bible which is my page with help and tips about reading the Bible and the books of the Bible.


You can also have a look at the very short 321 video at the top of my side bar.


If you enjoy reading in apps then you might like to try some of the Bible Apps available for phone and if you like to listen to audio books you could also try the Bible App read by David Suchet 






*I am not compensated by anyone or any organisation mentioned in this blog post