Sunday, reading in bed (photography)

I just finished Stephen King's Bag of Bones last night (not bad...I'd give it 3.5 or 4 out of 5). It's been a long time since I read any King, but my husband has been coercing me to read both The Stand and The Dark Tower series for some time now. I guess I'm going to give in. Somehow he just can't wrap his head around that fact that I love everything dystopian and haven't read either of these before. I think it's less about not having gotten around to it and more about committing to these magnum opi. It's hard to get physically comfortable with a book that big.

But here we go. My first book of the year is finished...and my second just begun.

My top reads of 2017

I'll admit it (though with a hint of embarrassment, I guess) that I read quite a bit in the genre of self-help...or memoirs that deal with growth, change, enlightenment, etc.

I don't do it because I am lost or helpless or hapless or guileless. I do it because reading a good memoir makes me feel connected to the writer. I feel like I can learn things from the experiences of others. And reading a good piece of self-help can lead me toward epiphanies I may otherwise not have had. Sometimes I'm looking for an answer. Sometimes just inspiration or a connection.

Let me make a quick distinction, as well. A "good" piece of self-help is one that speaks truth in a way that connects with me right now. It's specific and vulnerable and raw and honest. It doesn't come across as gimmicky or superficial or patronizing. It grabs me right away and begs me to listen. It doesn't have to be written by a doctor or a psychologist. The best writers of self-help, in my opinion, are those who have helped themselves (for real) with the methods they explain. They've found some sort of healing or awareness through their experience and they are sharing it, hoping it might help others.

I do a lot of professional reading and reading of various types of fiction and non-fiction, though I must admit I go through phases with particular genres, authors, and topics.