On Reading
Well, I committed to monthly reading updates, so here I am, updating you for my reading record for February 2024…
I did not finish reading a single book in February 2024.
Just Kids by Patti Smith is the primary book I chose to read this month and mannnn.
I'm just not running through it!
I don't say this as a bad thing, just an observation that this memoir is taking me longer than usual to read.
I'm probably 1/4 into it, don't have the drive to pick it up, but still want to finish it.
We will see. I haven't decided to DNF (did not finish) it quite yet.
I also began reading Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldreee, and I love this book in the coziest of cozy way!
The writing style is easy to move through, and the main character is a wholeeee freaking vibe.
Setting up a coffee shop in a town that's never heard of coffee is a bold move, but Viv seems to handle it well (so far).
One other slightly big, unfortunate thing related to books that happened this month is that I broke my promise.
At the beginning of 2024, I said I would not buy a new book until I had completed at least one book on my 2024 TBR list.
While I didn't finish reading a TBR book in February (or any book for that matter), I purchased two new books.
HEAR ME OUT, HEAR ME OUT.
[[ Quite honestly, all this next part is, is excuses. ]]
Right up until the second to last day of the month, I did not purchase a single new book. And that’s actually saying something because I visited with family in Waynesville, NC for my birthday – and there’s a jam-packed, low-key, moody book shop that we DID enter into…and I walked out with zero books. W O W, I know.
Then, on a Thursday afternoon in a small, local thrift shop, I caved. About a week later, I indulged again. (Wait. I see the addiction.)
Now, I spent less than $2 and turned down a plethora of other books I walked by and wanted for like 48 days straight.
Plus, I read two books on my TBR in January …doesn’t that mean I get a freebie!? Lol
Anywho.
The two books that stole the show for February are Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner (which was like $1.25) and Billy Summers by Stephen King (which I bought with store credit).
Truly, no regrets. It’s a new month, and we will try again! And I’m super freaking really stoked to get into the books.
On another reading thought:
I think bookstagram and booktok and all the things have really made reading more of a competition than an escape, way of learning, or hobby.
Don't get me wrong, I love the connections and communities these things bring, and I follow them, too!
Heck! I even tried bookstagram (#un-genre'd) for a few...days. lol
I alsoooo think it's MORE normal to not finish even one book in a month.
I think it's okay to decide to stop reading a book because you aren't interested because there are a million other books that WILL interest you!
I think it's BEST to read what you want to read when you want to read.
And maybe this is me just aiming to justify why I halted my reading this month or broke a reading promise.
Or maybe this is your reminder that reading isn't that deep, go DNF the book that you keep having to convince yourself to read, and no one's keeping track of how fast you read unless you tell them.
On that note, thank you for taking the time to read this.
I love you.
OH! And comment with your current read! My TBR list can never be too long. :)
Get Connected
Did you love this article? THANK YOUUUUUUU for reading!!
Jess’s Substack is supported by readers like you. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
You’re always invited to join my premium substack channel for $8 where you’ll receive new and noteworthy essays and articles that aren’t published anywhere else, and here are a few other ways for us to connect:
Join my weekly email love letter It's All Extra by clicking here.
Find me on Instagram: @writingswithjess
Find me on TikTok: @writingswithjess
Are you a writer hoping to write MORE in 2024? Join The Secret Life of Writers here
Want to join Funnel Cake Freelancing? Click here!