Rambling about reading (GBE-R)

I love books. 

I remember a member of my ex-family being flabbergasted that I "read for pleasure." I remember her being astounded that anyone would do that.

I remember being astounded that there were people who didn't.

My parents were big readers. My grandmother too. We had shelves upon shelves of books in our house. Family members traded yard sale paperbacks between each other. 

There were no restrictions on what I was allowed to read--except for maybe my mom's copy of 9 1/2 weeks which I sneakily removed and replaced when she wasn't around. I will wholeheartedly admit that I was waaaayyyyyyyyyyy too young to have read that book! But as an adult, I really appreciate the freedom they let me have when it came to books.

My father was the epitome of a parent to a Gen-X kid. You know...get outside and don't come back until dinner...don't bother me with this nonsense when I have important adult shit to do...oh wait, that's right I DO have a child, she's around here somewhere... 

Despite that, he drove down to the local library to yell at the librarian for not letting me check out a book from the "grown-up" section of the library. She said I was too young. My dad told her that wasn't for her to decide. He had to sign a waiver so I would be able to roam the library freely.

My favorite book is IT by Stephen King. I have loved most books by King (I cannot get through The Tommyknockers no matter how hard I try, and I've been trying since the eighth grade!!) and he is probably my favorite author. He has written better books, for sure, and this book is not without its problems. But I can love something without it being perfect and I can be rational and realistic about what makes it problematic.

I will read almost anything, but I do have a reader wheelhouse.  These are elements of a good story that will draw me to a book every time:

• Is it a mystery, thriller, or suspense? Does it have a serial killer? Is it a murder mystery? If so, I am there so fast! If it involves forensics, I'll probably be there faster. In fact, I'm already there.
• Is the protagonist a bad-ass female? She cuts her own hair, drinks black coffee, and takes no shit from anyone? Hell yeah, sign me up.
• Is there a heist? I cannot express to you how much I love a good heist!
• Does it take place during the Victorian era? Old Hollywood? The 1920s? Mid Century America? Yes please!
• Is it a series? I love, love, love, books in a series.  
• If it's non-fiction, is it about medical history? Is it about cultural perspectives on death? Is it about gardening or herbology (think kitchen-witchy stuff)? If so, it's landing right in my TBR pile!

I also have a reader doghouse (I'm borrowing that term from the Reading Glasses podcast because it's a great description!). Elements of a story that I want no part of. Obviously, I have read many a book that fall into these categories. If I know about it ahead of time, I'm most likely never picking up the book. My doghouse includes:

• Aliens/Space. I don't care about either one. Neither excites me. 
• Epic fantasy with tons of world building.
• Historical epics. 
• A character who is stuck inside a prison or a mental institution (most likely undercover) and they become trapped because the only person who knew they were in there is either dead or incapacitated in some way. Is this oddly specific? Yes, it is. But this particular trope causes me SO MUCH ANXIETY!!! 
• Time travel where the present, as the main character knows it to be, is changed negatively and can't be undone. This also causes me anxiety. 
• Stolen identity where everyone believes the perpetrator is really the main character and no one believes the main character is who they say they are. My anxiety rules yet again!!

I realize those last three are so particular and, truly, offshoots of the same idea. I don't know why they cause me so much stress, but they do. I'm not looking to see dogs die in books either, but I would rather experience twenty fictitious dog deaths than ANY of those three scenarios!!!

I've been intentionally trying to seek out books with more LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color. I realize that I am a forty-something white woman who for all intents and purposes is heterosexual and that my book choice often falls into that mindset by default. I think (hope) I'm doing a good job with that.

Last year, I put my top ten books of the year on my Facebook. I have no idea if that was helpful to anyone, but I enjoyed doing it and I plan on doing it again this year.

I'm so appreciative that I grew up in a house filled with books and reading. I have spent countless rainy days curled up with a good book (everyone knows that rainy days are the best reading days!). I have spent numerous hours in other worlds, and I am better for it. 

I definitely don't read the same things that my family did, but my father and grandmother have been gone a long time and, each time I pick up a book, I feel a little more connected to their memory. 

Thanks to my family for my love of reading--oh an also for my anxiety disorder!

I wouldn't be me without them.

What books have you been enjoying? 

What's your wheelhouse? Do you have a doghouse?

Is there a trope that stresses you out, or am I just an anxiety-filled bag of nuts? 

Do you set reading goals for yourself? If so, what are you trying to accomplish?