Perk 2 to being an Author: READING

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I’m a compulsive reader.

If there are words, I will read them—billboards (though they’re boring), the book my airplane neighbor’s reading, the cover of magazines in the grocery store, even the fine print warnings on shampoo bottles while I shower. And yet, I find so little time to get to my actual book list.

The last writer’s conference I went to, author and speaker Karen Whiting said, “If [writing] is a calling from God, then [writing] is a sacred time…. It’s a commitment to God.”

I truly believe I’m called by God to write, but I realized I didn’t treat it as a sacred time. I loved writing and reading so much that I automatically assumed I shouldn’t be doing it. Where do we get these ideas that we shouldn’t be doing what we enjoy? Is it just me?

I treated writing and reading as a reward after I finished more important things like cleaning, cooking, and errands. Now that my vision has cleared, I am wholly committing myself to honing my craft and deepening my knowledge. Part of that comes through reading. How can I understand my market if I don’t read it regularly? How can I recognize good writing from bad if I’m not reading it?

Part of my commitment involved making it a goal—a task, even—to read at least a book a month. So, out of ambition and a wacky love for list-making, I’ve put together an “Autumn Reading List” and plan to make a new list every quarter of the year.

Autumn Reading List

1. City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
2. Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Mark of the Lion Trilogy, by Francine Rivers
5. The Superlative Stream, by Kerry Nietz (book 2 of the Dark Trench Saga)
6. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien (for re-reading purposes)
7. A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

What books are on your reading list for the rest of 2013? Have you read any on my list? 

See the other posts in my “Perks to Being an Author” series:

• Perk 1: Writing
• Perk 3: Decorating
• Perk 4: Comfort
• Perk 5: Delicious Snacks & Drinks