Reading Rainstorm

 

So, I’m starting a new book blog…

Yeah, yeah, I know! Do I really need yet another outlet* to write navel gazing essays about myself, the number one online pursuit of the millennial generation? Perhaps not. Still, I find myself preoccupied by books. I think about them all the time. How odd is that? I come from a family of book lovers and the love of my life has been piling up recommended books on our bedroom bookshelf on a daily basis, so it’s not like I’m alone in this.

We currently reside in a home with over two thousand books I haven’t read yet. Plus, I work for a major urban public library system exposing me to a constant stream of cool books new and old, in print, digital, and audio formats, all too easy for me to grab. I always find myself reading, comparing and contrasting themes and ideas, connecting them to other things I’ve read and seen.

This, perhaps, is what drew me to library science and a desire to work in libraries and archives, my vast curiosity compels my attention from one discipline to the next. I take books with me along on my trips, books that are topical to the region and complement the journey. I like to read books to match the seasons, world events, how I feel at any given time. This, of course, makes for a reading list that is constantly growing, as well as one that highlights my personality.

So, in a tractless online sea of book reviews, what new thing could my blog toss into the waves? On what premise is my literary ship setting sail? What is my schtick, so to speak? In this blog, I aim to curate lists of books that feature some theme, or some aspect I find interesting, some facet of my own life I have found reflected in the works I read. I have found that reading is a very personal activity, one that is never the same for two people. The way I respond to the books I read reflects my own life, in fact, it could be said that every review is autobiographical. They reflect my environment, the things that are currently concerning me in the world, how I am changing through time.

Reading, I find, is one of the most enlightening pleasures of human life. It may a bit of a cliche to say that it allows you to experience the mind of another, to travel far and wide without leaving your couch or bed, but there is some truth there, too. Stepping into the viewpoints and mind of another person, as they share their knowledge and experiences, their imagination and dreams, is one of the easiest ways to get to know the world. All this reading, you are bound to find weird parallels and similarities in places you’d least expect to, as well as evidence of the great diversity of human experience. By exposing your mind to the experiences and diverse perspectives of people across all times, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and histories, you expand your own understanding. Through this blog, I would like to share some of the things I discover and hopefully pass along some cool stuff!

Each of my posts will consist of five or six titles I’ve read recently, my thoughts and feelings on them, and the ways in which they can be compared and contrasted. In others, I’ll just highlight some of my favorite books and what they mean to me. Of course, I’m often reminded of some of my favorite music in books as well, so I’ll be including a thematic song or musical interlude in the posts as well!

*Check out my reviews on GoodReads, my personal library at LibraryThing, and I will also be sharing these blogs on my BookLikes account. Who needs just one platform? Also, I blog about my regional travels and adventures in the Twin Cities on my WordPress blog MSP Adventure Time (occasionally crossing over with this blog), and my long neglected attempt to read the world’s holy books over at Sacred Book Project, having stalled somewhere near the end of the Old Testament several years ago.