ELMA Reads a Lot

I read a lot…

…so much, in fact, that I have been forced to utilize three different media for my literary consumption to keep all the information separate in my mind: I read history and biography via traditional paper books, I read fiction and manga on my Kindle, and I listen to religious and personal development books via Audible. I love the sensory experience of a book in my hands—the pliable swoop of a well-worn paperback, the heft and dignity of a hardcover, and the cozy smell as you fan the pages and breathe in that papery, dusty goodness. My Kindle is invaluable to me as a convenient and lightweight option to read a lot without the slightly heavier price tag of a physical copy, but it cannot compare to the soul-warming sensation of the real thing. Because of this, I often purchase physical copies of fiction that really spoke to me in digital format, just to have it on my shelves…to gaze at and remember and eventually reread.

Books are my first love and my oldest friend. I escaped into the Telltale Heart when I was sick. I got well and truly lost in the pages of A Wrinkle in Time in high school when adolescence was just too much. I drew strength from King Lear when college was overwhelming. I reconnected with my sister as adult women in the universe of Acotar. I found some youthful joy in workplace drudgery as my coworkers and I reread all of Harry Potter.

The uncontrollable urge to write is likely the result of devouring so many stories throughout my whole life. I have several published poems, which I may share here at a later date, a completed fantasy novel, a thriller/romance/adventure trilogy in the first draft stage, a young reader series of fantasy stories that I write to read to my children, and a plethora of story ideas in various stages of daydreaming/drafting. This blog is an effort to give vent to my writing impulses, to explore the moods, notions, and inspiration that reading gives me, and the way reading and writing affect my life and the lives of those around me.

I’m looking forward to sharing this lifelong love of reading with you, and exploring all the ways books have, can, and will change our lives.