Reading, a Guilty Pleasure?

          This month, WARA members discussed where we read. My simple answer is everywhere, particularly my library, (see last month’s post) but I wanted to share another part of that. I love to read and can read anywhere, but I feel SO GUILTY sitting down and reading a book. I just know there is something else I could be doing instead. Something I should be doing. Writing my own story, cleaning the house, playing with my children, making dinner. How many of us have delayed or forgotten dinner completely, because we were lost in a book we just couldn’t put down!?

If I pull out a book, it’s at night by my bedside after the kids are asleep and the day is “done.” That’s a terrible thing to do, if I don’t fall asleep or worse yet stay up way too late. That’s if I pick up a book. By the time I get into the bed, my eyes won’t stay open long enough to start a chapter.

My school-aged children are required to read daily and I note it on their logs. I don’t always do that which makes me feel like a terrible mother. I know my kids read, but I don’t keep track of how much. How can I make them read when they don’t see me reading? Fortunately, they read all the time. If my son finds a series he likes, he’ll be reading the book at the breakfast table.

So readers and writers, what should I do? Indulge in the guilty pleasure of reading? Any tips on a happy medium? 

AND if you want to indulge in a bit of mystery reading, check out Fish or Cut Bait: A Guppy Anthology that includes my short story The Bones in the Box. I'm so thrilled it's out! You can find it at Amazon, B&N, and Wildside Press.