As a writer, one of the most common pieces of advice you hear is to read as much (or more) than you write. And while I normally hate advice of almost all kinds, this is one bit I actually like! After all, I love reading! It’s one of my great passions.

But reading for pleasure is one thing when you’re single or in school and another when you’re working full time and raising a family. What’s more, as a writer, you often have books that you’re supposed to read—ARCs, books you’re beta reading, etc. And that list can pile up, until you feel like you’re staring a huge amount of required reading, not unlike the lists you might have gotten in school. And nothing quite takes the joy out of reading so much as seeing it as homework (it’s definitely made me more sympathetic to my middle school students).

So I took a step back. I decided I’d give myself a break on reading any books that I didn’t choose for myself, for pleasure. It’s been truly wonderful. I read books like The Dark Lord of Derkholm and Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather, both of which sat on my shelf for a horrible length of time, because I just didn’t have the time or energy for them. I felt like I’d rediscovered reading, the joy of it, the pleasure and relaxation that comes from a book and not a flickering screen. I’ve discovered that reading in the evening seems to reduce my stress levels in a way that TV and video games don’t (though I still enjoy those). It’s nice! I’d recommend it to anyone, and I hope you find plenty of brilliant new books to read this year!