Okay – I know I have been slacking about posting. School this semester is *so* much busier than prior semesters – I took on a research position, one class has regular exams, and another has regular writing assignments – and I have some other stuff going on. But, hi! I’m here!
One thing that is kind of miserable about my schedule (beyond the lack of sleep and the whole hardly seeing The Boyfriend except for during the commute to school and a brief hello between classes some nights), is that I don’t have time to read. I used to read everything I could get my hands on. Seriously – everything. I would spend hours going through the old Readers’ Digest issues at my grandparents’ house as a small child. I read stacks of National Geographics that my dad had and all of his Hardy Boys. Middle school saw me reading the classics and in deep adoration of Atticus Fitch (side note: is that why I ultimately ended up in law school?). I spent high school collecting vampire novels and taking college literature courses and my twenties collecting books about murders and religion. Throughout all of it, I have maintained an intense love of current events and reading the news. And then I started law school and I wasn’t able to keep my reading for fun. And I have to tell you, seriously, it sucks.
However, there is a bright spot – a tiny, shiny, bright spot. I discovered audiobooks. I spend hours in my car every day between going to work and going to school and while there are some days I really feel like listening to The National’s Boxer on repeat (seriously, such a good album), most days, I want to pull in as much information as I possibly can. I listen to podcasts and highly recommend (some of) them. But I missed reading. I missed reading about horribly depressing religious experiences. I missed reading interesting and somewhat dark fiction. I missed reading light and funny memoir. And so I subscribed to an audiobook service.
Frankly, I love it.
I know it’s not really reading, but it’s as close as I can get right now. And for that, I am grateful. I go through two or three books a month. Most recently, and so far one of my absolute favorites, was Amy Poehler’s Yes Please. I adored it. It made me laugh. A lot. It made me cry (more than a comedienne’s memoir probably should). It was simply fantastic. Ms. Poehler is so sweet and so relatable and so… rah-rah-girl, that I seriously wish she could be my bestie. Listening to her made me want to be a better, slightly less snarky version of me. She is amazing and funny and adorable. And I highly recommend everyone read her book – but especially recommend the audiobook. I’m sure there are differences, and I do love the sensation of turning a page, but I really loved having her personality come through in the audio. I loved Tina Fey’s Bossypants and Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, but I think Yes Please takes the proverbial cake. It is even better than the hype and deserves all of the ink spent on it. (Also, it made me *really* sad about the impending end of Parks and Recreation – I want Leslie Knope to be my spirit animal.)
I finished the book this morning, a little sad to not have more. Tomorrow, I’ll start listening to Jon Krakauer’s Prophet’s Prey. Something tells me it will be a little less fun, but hopefully compelling nonetheless.