Injecting Fun Into Your Routine: Step 2

So now we’re onto step two of how to inject fun into your routine. I suspect you’ll be pretty unsurprised that I’m a little partial to this next activity. Any guesses?  Here’s a picture clue.

I often read 2 or 3 books simultaneously. Usually there's one in my bag in case I get a spare moment to read. Surreptitious reading moments feel so totally decadent.  Sometimes I accidentally-on-purpose factor in early arrival time to tutoring venues just so I can sit in the car for 10 minutes or so and read.  I often have 2 books in my bag because I might just finish the one that’s already there. It’s always good to have a spare to hand.

There’s also a book by my pillow because I’ve found they make the most magnificent bedfellows. Sometimes I need to read a book because one of my students is studying it for exams. It used to be they studied what are considered classics and then I was covered as I’ve read a fair few of those. But these days other books are creeping into the syllabus which means I’m constantly reading things I would never have considered before.

A couple of unexpected reads have been A Monster Calls and Regeneration.

I’m a staunch fiction supporter. I’ve tried non-fiction but find it too easy to set aside. I love being drawn into the worlds fiction writers create.  I find myself reading different genre for my different moods.  When I’m particularly melancholy about the state of the world I always turn to Fantasy. 


Other favourite genres are Magic Realism and Classics, particularly Austen, the Brontës and George Eliot.

If you’re reading this blog you’re already a reader and hardly need any encouragement to keep going. But if reading is just a sporadic thing for you, then you may want to look at all these benefits associated with regular reading:

• It reduces stress
• It improves memory
• It’s highly entertaining
• It increases knowledge
• It improves your imagination
• It broadens your understanding of the world
• It makes you a more interesting conversationalist

As a writer, a massive benefit is that it informs me what I need to aim for if I want my writing to emulate that of the writers I revere. Admittedly, sometimes I want to sob uncontrollably because I doubt I could ever be that good. But more often than not, it throws down the gauntlet and I can do nothing else but accept the challenge.  Along with my regular writing group sessions, it drives me to strive for better.

Another benefit, particularly when I read Pratchett: I can guarantee I’ll laugh, not once but several times in one sitting. I generally read on bus journeys and regularly get some queer looks because of my tittering behind the pages of a Pratchett. I’m not going to give you the scientific benefits of laughter. I think they’re pretty obvious to one and all as they’re bound to mention words like serotonin and endorphins. Let’s just say reading a funny book is like a private viewing of a top comedian. What could be better?

If you still need convincing after all that then there’s nothing more I can say.  At any rate, time for me to head off and indulge in the pure decadence of a bit more reading.

Happy reading one and all!