What Dry Spell?

OK, dry spell reference revealed…

This Summer I was really “cooking” on my “To Be Read” list. I was doing so well, in fact, that when the Fall Reading Challenge rolled around I thought, “I can do this!” It will be great to put a list out there and stick with it. I could almost hear ethereal music announcing, "You are woman, we hear you roar!"

AND then, it all went downhill.

I think I quite suddenly developed a severe case of “Book ADD”. I had read three of the four books in Karen Kingsbury’s Five book: Redemption Series and was in the middle of the fourth book, Rejoice” when I accidentally left it at a hotel.

Just about the same time, I won Alan Alda’s biography from my sweet friend Jill. I read it ¾ of the way in ONE weekend. I have loved what I have read, but it is deep. It requires thinking as you read.

I started The Memory Keeper’s Daughter as well in the midst of all of this until I could go buy another copy of Kingsbury’s book. I thought I’d read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter while I was in Savannah. I was WRONG! My SIL, Heather, told me it was a “page turner” for her. I thought that would be the perfect book to tide me over so I could finish the Redemption Series. I already know that “one person’s page turner can be another person’s albatross.” Seriously, it’s not THAT bad. I am enjoying it….I’m just not riveted to it…YET. I DO plan, however, to finish that book.

The fact that I also had professional books to read in preparation for upcoming trainings at school didn’t help. I started those at school and am holding pieces of each in my head until I can call them “complete”.

On our first night in Savannah, right after I'd met sweet Daisy she said, "I just love reading the book reviews you do you on your blog!" And because we'd just met, I resisted the urge to say, "Yeah, I haven't been really keeping up with THAT have I?" That night I actually found myself picking up The Memory Keeper's Daughter with DAISY in mind! I mean she might NEED my reviews, you know?

At the end of October, I “won” Mosaic by Amy Grant at another blog. I have been dying to read this book. I stopped reading all together as I thought that I’d get that book in the mail very soon. I haven't received the book yet, and sadly neither has one of the other winners. So I thought I'd better just press on into at least ONE of the five books I had started but not finished.

As if all this wasn’t enough, I agreed to review John C. Maxwell’s book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” in the midst of all the textual chaos that had become my reading life.

I reminded myself that no one is grading me on whether I finish the Fall Reading Challenge or not. It’s my competitive nature that is drives me to finish. And I also reminded myself that, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” And this weekend, I decided to take a step. And in the end, I ended up taking TWO steps.

I finished the last two books in Kingsbury’s series. I’ll review them tomorrow. I decided that this was, oddly enough, the “right time” for me to hear the lessons that these two stories tell. I needed to laugh and cry with her characters this weekend. I needed to think about the spiritual implications for me, and my own life, as a result of my reading.

When I really dig deep, however, I realize that it’s a pattern that I repeat over and over again. It’s not just with books. It’s with time. It’s with relationships. It’s with family. I tend to bite off way more than I can chew then I can’t even bring myself to take the little bites necessary to finish one of the task(s) at hand. I wallow. I whine. Then I start in to fix the mess I've made.

While I don’t think floundering around doing nothing is a good thing. Perhaps a little chaos is OK once in a while. For me, anyway, it helps me remember that I have to take action if I want things to change.

And that’s a lesson that never wears out!