If I had to give three words for the kind of reader I am, it would be voracious, moody, and discerning. What do these words mean to me and what does it have to do with the Blue Chair Bookshelf?
Voracious
I have fond childhood memories of my mom reading me stacks of picture books from the library, and as I grew up I read books on my own here and there. So in one way or another I guess I’ve always been a reader. But the love for good books never really sparked until high school when I saw the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie with a good friend. To this day that is still my favorite version, even though the BBC marathon of a movie is more accurate to the book. (And who can resist Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy?) But the 2005 film is just so cinematic and pretty, and the hand flex… but I digress.
After seeing this movie, I had the sudden desire to read the book. Friends, I read the book, and I loved the book. I loved Jane Austen so much that I took to carrying around a doorstop of a compilation in my backpack so that I could work my way through all of her novels. The spark had struck, and though it took years for the flame to roar to life, it never fully went out.
Fast forward several years, and not long after I had my first child, I had a light bulb moment in realizing that I’m a morning person. Not only that, but that I loved waking up stupid dark early and sitting alone in the quiet hours with coffee. (At this point, my reading chair was a hand me down cast off and it was U-G-L-Y, but still essential to my routine.) When I gave in to this realization and stopped dreading my alarm, a whole new world opened up to me. All of a sudden I had the time to really read.
Ever since then, the amount of books I read in a year has exploded from something like 10 a year to now well over 100. (This is where I stop and say that even though I may read that much, you don’t have to, and I won’t think less of you. It just makes me happy to know people are reading.) These days, at any given time, I usually have 3 books going. I always have my fun (fiction) book going, and I am almost always reading a non-fiction book, as well as a read aloud book for my kids. And I do count the chapter books I read aloud toward my yearly number. They are books that I am interested in reading and would definitely read on my own, I just happen to be sharing the experience with my children.
So now that you know I read a lot, you may be wondering what I read.
Moody
My bread and butter genre to read is mystery, mostly adult, though I do love a good puzzle at any reading level. I also love early chapter books, middle grade, young adult (YA), love stories, fantasy, classics, historical fiction, general fiction…
With so many genres and reading levels taking up space on my TBR (to be read) list, how do I decide what to read? I just follow my mood.
I may hear about a book and add it to my shelves or immediately place a hold on it at the library, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to read it as soon as it’s in my hands. My mood has to be right. My husband will sometimes hand me a book he wants me to read, and I usually say “I will, when I’m in the right mood for it.”
If I finish a book, and I’m not quite sure what I’m in the mood for next, I will often grab 2 or 3 books off of my unread book cart and will sit down to read the first page or two of each one. It’s not a fool proof method, but that usually tells me which book I’ll be most interested in to read next.
Discerning
I may read a lot, and I may read many different genres, but do I finish everything I start? The answer is no, I do not.
Usually when I “DNF” (do not finish) a book it’s due to one of a few reasons. Either I’m not in the right mood, it’s boring or badly written, or I have discerned that it’s not a book I need to be reading.
What do I mean by that last statement? As I’m reading a book, or before I even crack it open, if it has content I do not want to consume or I have felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit that I do not need to be reading that particular book, I will put it down. I will admit, I am not perfect at this. It’s easy to feel the pull of the world. But ultimately, I do strive to discern what is good.
You may be wondering, “So how do you read anything?! Almost all books have something ‘bad’ in them these days.” And I would say that’s a valid question. I wrestled with that very thought a few years ago. How do I choose what to read when everything seems to have something and the books that are “clean” usually seem poorly written or full of cheese? At least they do for adult fiction.
In light of this, I sought out the opinions of peers and older adults (all believers) that I respect. Every single one of them said practically the same thing. We live in a fallen world and its imperfect reality. Does that mean we hide under a rock? No! It’s our job to discern what is good and redemptive when reading an imperfect book, and to put aside what is bad.
This changed the way I looked at the books I was choosing to read. It made me realize that I really needed to pay attention to my inner conviction when reading books and taking in stories, but I couldn’t be distraught that the world was evident on the pages. It also made me realize though, that I was already exhibiting the skill of how to choose good books. It was just a skill I needed to hone.
Blue Chair Bookshelf
Which brings me to the purpose for the Blue Chair Bookshelf. My goal as a mom who wants to see her children love to read is to feed them with a supply of excellent books, but also to teach them the art of discernment. I may be able to filter everything they read now, but I can’t do that the older they get, and eventually I have to set them free.
A part of my filtering process is to show them what worthy literature looks like, while at the same time not sheltering them. We do sometimes read books with “stuff” in it. But we just simply talk about the stuff and move on. We sometimes stop and discuss what we think about a particular character or situation, and whether we think something is OK. We sometimes stop cold turkey in the middle of a book and set it aside after I give them a brief explanation as to why.
But what about finding books for them to read independently? While I do love reading children’s books, I can’t possibly pre-read everything I hand to them. So how do I know if a book is going to be OK? How do I know if we’ll need to talk about it, or if I shouldn’t even allow it in my house? Or, to go in a different direction, how do I possibly keep track of all the books on my shelves that they will read one day and remember what may be in them? At what point will they be age appropriate? This I need help with. And thus the idea for my blog was eventually born.
Here on The Bookshelf, you will be able to find short reviews of books I have personally read, including any content that may be questionable or that you may want to discuss with your child. Hopefully this can help you decide if you want to hand a particular book to a child at all, or maybe save it for a particular maturity and age level.
You will not find any fiction books beyond YA on The Bookshelf as I do not intend to review adult novels. What you may feel OK to read and recommend, I may not, and vice versa. I believe that as an adult, you have what it takes to discern for yourself. But as we raise readers who do not yet have the same maturity, I think it sure would be helpful to have a place you can go to learn more about a book.
So there you go, you’ve now had a deep dive into the kind of reader I am, and my heart and vision for the Blue Chair Bookshelf. Please bear with me as I “stock the shelves.” I have read a lot, but it will take time to review and post these books. And honestly, I’m sure I’ll get distracted with wanting to read just one more chapter!
Blue Chair Bookshelf 