For more than two years now, every Monday morning, I’ve posted a photo on my Facebook Page of the books I finished during the week, with the tag #GretchenRubinReads.
I get a big kick out of this weekly habit—it’s a way to shine a spotlight on all the terrific books that I’ve read.
As I write about in my book Better Than Before, for most of my life, my habit was to finish any book that I started. Finally, I realized that this approach meant that I spent time reading books that bored me, and I had less time for books that I truly enjoy. These days, I now put down a book if I don’t feel like finishing it, so I have more time to do my favorite kinds of reading.
This habit means that if you see a book included in the #GretchenRubinReads photo, you know that I liked it well enough to read to the last page.
If you’d like more ideas for habits to help you get more reading done, read this post or download my “Reading Better Than Before” worksheet.
You can also follow me on Goodreads where I’ve recently started tracking books I’ve read.
If you want to see what I read in February 2019, the full list is here.
I get a lot of time to read when I travel, and being on my book tour has given me many wonderful hours of reading—especially because in my “19 for 2019” list, I vowed to stop watching HGTV transformation shows in my hotel room. That’s freed up a lot of time!
March 2019 Reading:
Nobody’s Looking at You by Janet Malcolm — I love Janet Malcolm’s work. I’d read several of these essays before, but I loved reading them again.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson — A frank, bold term for this kind of clutter-clearing! Short and inspiring.
The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher — A fascinating way to approach a memoir. Now I want to read everything that M.F.K. Fisher ever wrote. Next stop: How to Cook a Wolf. How can I resist that title?
The Seventh Raven by Peter Dickinson — More Peter Dickinson! I loved this book, too. He never disappoints. Very different from his others, but I’m noticing a trend: he often involves characters who are ambassadors or diplomats of some kind. Interesting.
Heartburn by Nora Ephron — A re-read. Hilarious, thought-provoking novel based on her own experience with a divorce.
Fooling Houdini by Alex Stone — Fascinating. I’ve become very interested in magicians and theories of magic. Stay tuned.
The Crystal Tree by Jennie Dorothea Lindquist — Another re-read. What a wonderful, wonderful book. So cozy. It’s the third in a series that’s included in my list of 81 Favorite Works of Children’s and Young Adult Literature.
In the Palace of the Khans by Peter Dickinson — What can I say? More Peter Dickinson. With ambassadors! Plus royal families, secret passageways, ancient customs.
The Butler Speaks by Charles MacPherson — Not sure why I picked this up, but it was an interesting look at etiquette.
The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy — This memoir has been on my list for a long time. Thought-provoking, page-turning.
The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey — I loved this book and can’t wait to suggest it to my kidlit reading groups. A fresh and fascinating twist on the classic theme of zombie apocalypse.
The Only Story by Julian Barnes — An interesting examination of an unusual relationship, and its reverberations through the life of the narrator.
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan — I got this in galley! I’m a big fan of Ian McEwan, and this didn’t disappoint.
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell — A re-read. George Orwell is certainly one of my very favorite writers of non-fiction; perhaps my very favorite. So I wanted to re-read this.
