My life as a reader

Anatomy of a Kindle Owner from Written Word Media

I came across this cool infographic and it got me thinking about my life as a reader.  Although I do quite a bit of reading on my Kindle, I do not exclusively read ebooks; I alternate my reading between hardback, paperback and ebooks on my Kindle. 

I would describe my reading choices as eclectic – there does not seem to be any distinct patterns.  I do spend quite a bit of time reading indie published books from fellow aspiring authors, and I try to maintain a balance between those books and the other books that I choose. 

I also make every effort to read my book club selection each month.  My book club group likes to pick challenging books, but they are almost always worth the effort.  Some of the books we read last year included Pulitzer prize winning All the Light We Cannot See, The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, Everything I never Told You by Celeste Ng, The Perfume Collector by Cathlene Deotoere and Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.  I don't love all of the books, but my book club has pushed me to expand my reading choices.

I love historical fiction, so I almost always include at least one historical book each month.  Lately I have been trying to focus on fiction set during World War I and World War II specifically to help build background for some of the novels I am working on, either writing or in the planning stages. I find it very helpful to see how other authors weave historical facts into their stories.  

Like many people, I have stacks of books on my “to-read” pile.  There are so many wonderful books that I just haven’t gotten to yet. Despite this fact, just like the info graphic says, I continue to download new books every month.  At this point - even if I did nothing but read for the next year, I'm not sure I could finish all the books in my house and on my Kindle right now.