I have to admit, COVID has done a number on my book consumption. You wouldn’t think it would. I’m home more so I should have more time for that, right?
But no.
My schedule pre-COVID included a lot of driving for my job so I would listen to books in the car. I could easily go through several books a month. It was great! Audible loved me! Now I sit home in front of my computer. I have a lot more paperwork and I have to make sure I get out of my chair on a regular basis. My car trips recently have been to the chiropractor. Sitting too much in front of a computer screen evidently is not good for your back. Or neck. Or shoulders.
Things are opening up again thank goodness but I’m probably not going to be back to my old driving schedule. I miss books. I’ve got to develop different habits.
As a mom of many, over the years I have developed a love of audio books. When my big boys were little every day I would put on an audiobook at lunch. At that point it was my one time where I didn’t have a bunch of kids clamoring for me to talk to them. It was a welcomed break for my vocal cords and we all loved the stories we listened to. We started out on recording by Jim Weiss (now found on The Well-Trained Mind). He is a master storyteller and has rated his recordings by age. This way we could listen to a full story at lunch. We eventually moved on to longer stories and books but it was good to get the boys used to it in shorter chunks.
These hooked me. I started purchasing books on tape. The entire Harry Potter series was listened to probably a dozen times. I took the four boys on a 3 week road trip by myself one summer and it was a lifesaver. No yelling or arguing in the car. I just had to pop in the tape or CD.
These days most of the books I’m listening to are non-fiction. I’ve got to admit that I don’t retain the information as well as if I read the physical book but I listen to it and if it is good enough, I get the book too. I then go through it and find the parts that I want to go deeper in and read and annotate that part. It may seem like overkill to some but it works for me.
But how to find the time…
My Audible app on my phone is the most important one on there as far as I’m concerned. I’ve started finding different times to use it. I’m listening to books when I exercise each day (which allows me to see my chiropractor less so I can afford more books!) I’m also cooking more so I turn on the books then too. I’m starting to drive around more and still listening to books then.
I also want to fit in more fun books. My homeschool community has a book group for the parents. It makes me read a book each month so I can join in the discussion. I love making the connections with the other parents and so it is an incentive to make the time to read.
I’d love to hear how you fit reading into your busy schedule! I’m always open to new ideas.