COVID caused return to reading

Reading is amazing.

If you checked out our The CR Recommends piece in the Jan. 2 newspaper, you know I got back into reading for pleasure last year.

It happened in June when I went to visit my family in Avon, Ohio.

Normally on a summer visit home I’d spend at least a couple of days taking my niece to the city pool. I love the water, so I’m happy to stay until closing time if that’s what Tatiyana wants.

Normally we’d go out to eat a few times. (Before the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, my dad and a group of his buddies got together every Thursday for lunch and rated the restaurants, so he knows all of the good spots.)

Normally, we might catch a Cleveland Indians or Lake Erie Crushers game.

Because of the pandemic, all of those possibilities were off the table.

And, since my parents watch TV that I prefer to avoid — my dad enjoys westerns, “Gunsmoke,” “Swamp People,” etc., while my mom would watch news 24/7 if she could — I figured a book would provide a good way to pass some time.

I started with Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath.” I describe Gladwell as a “thinker.” He’s been included on the TIME 100 Most Influential People list and tends to look at issues and ideas from a different perspective. “David and Goliath” starts by looking at the Biblical tale and attempting to understand how and why the storied underdog was victorious against the favorite. It continues on to consider a variety of other issues, often turning them on their head.

When I finished Gladwell’s book, I went looking for something on my parents’ bookshelf. I wanted it to be short enough that I could finish it before I returned to Jay County a few days later. I picked “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” by Thornton Wilder, who also wrote “Our Town.” It wasn’t the easiest to read but it hit on a poignant message at the end.

It turned out that I still had time left, so, on my mom’s advice, I picked up a Robert B. Parker novel. He’s a mystery writer and I tore through the first offering in his Jesse Stone series in less than 24 hours.

After three books in that span of a week, I realized how much I missed reading. I decided to keep it up.

If you’re someone who doesn’t read but wants to, hasn’t read for a while and wants to return or would simply like to read more, here are some tips to success:

•Set an attainable goal. Going from reading nothing to attempting to reach 50 books in a year makes no sense. Set a goal you can reach. When I got going again I decided to shoot for a book every two weeks, which at that point added up to 14 for the remainder of the year. I ended up easily achieving that goal, finishing the year with 28 books read. It felt great. So, come up with a number that you can hit. Once you’ve figured out your reading pace, you can gently increase your goal year to year. (I use the Goodreads website both to keep track of my books and to find suggestions for new things to read.)

•Mix it up. I tend to be a mystery guy. I love Michael Connelly. Michael Koryta’s Lincoln Perry series is outstanding. I’m currently enjoying reading Allen Eskens. And I recently finished my first Janet Evanovich book. But I also made a point last year to grab books from genres I normally wouldn’t choose. I read humor, fantasy, science fiction, non-fiction. I found some books I enjoyed. It can be invigorating to get out of your comfort zone.

•Don’t be afraid to quit. On a book, that is. Sometimes we feel that when we pick up a book we need to make it to the end. It seems like a failure if we don’t. That’s nonsense. If you don’t like a book, set it aside and start a different one. There are millions of books out there. Find something you enjoy instead of wasting time slogging through pointless pages.

Happy reading.