As some of you might recall, back in 2015, I posted plans to read 100 books as part of 2016’s Goodreads challenge. 😱 Because of the delay of the Château Enginerd project and the MBA, I was able to finish 60 entries. I set a more realistic goal of 55 for 2017, and got to about 51 before the year ended. Unfortunately, 2018 didn’t fare as well as I thought and my total dropped to 18 out of 60. My mom’s bought with brain cancer and quick passing had eaten up all opportunities for leisure and R&R. I didn’t have the energy, let alone the inner peace, to sit for prolonged spans, submerged in alternate realities that could be interrupted at any moment by bad news or pressing estate matters.
As I get older, it has become more daunting to escape the mundane, to find joy in the predictable and inescapable truths of death and taxes.
Loss and grief are interesting companions. I found myself attracted to practical knowledge, to science, law, psychology, economics, women studies, POC or minority writers, and floof/lighthearted pieces. I had to mend my broken heart and cleanse my exhausted mind of all things business since the MBA was tightly knit to my mom’s last wishes and expectations for my future. In between books, months were spent on DIYs and show binging, catching up on everything I had placed on hold past June 2018. It took two years to have the nerve to get back on the reading horse. The lofty goal of 60 books waiting to finally be fulfilled.
As quarantine continues, working from home is a certainty until early 2021, I’m slowly working my way through memoirs and dramas, especially those dealing with death and broken promises. It hits too close to home still. With a grand total of 16 books completed in the last 5 mos, it seems the spark has been ignited all engine cylinders; the stillness and patience required to enjoy the writen word is settling in. Fingers crossed that the next couple of books read themselves and continue to fuel the flame of competition with oneself. I need the small confidence building wins!
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 