Books- Creating a Book List: My Journey Through Reading

I must admit I am not a strong believer of New Year's Resolutions for the simple reason that I do not COMMIT to them very long. I do BELIEVE, however, in the importance of keeping one's word and to LEAD by example, but omit to commit to the pressures of having to make a New Year's Resolution. Any CONVICTION to me must come from the HEART, bare MEANING and PURPOSE to an individual at the time that is RIGHT for he or she.

That being said, for life has its IRONY, this past December (no pun intended) I made a PROMISE to myself to make a lifelong dream become REALITY; to READ books constantly and consistently on every topic of interest. It is a SIMPLE tasks, but it is often those that seem so obvious to us that we tend to delay the most, not realizing its VALUE and IMPORTANCE.

I remember when I was a young girl, I use to devour BOOKS because it ignited my imagination, creativity and allowed me to ESCAPE; it brought the world to my DOORSTEP. I was often the girl under the shade with her face in a book during the lunch hour, while the other kids were playing in the yard.

However, once I was a teenager (boys and peer pressure became a DISTRACTION) until college (where reading although interesting became an OBLIGATION), I did not read books as much as I would have enjoyed to or the subject matter then did not INTEREST me much. Throughout the years, my appetite for reading would come and go, until NOW.

I have decided to recapture my CHILDHOOD pleasure for reading and started to write down a BOOK LIST. The latter consist of non-fiction and fiction novels with an array of topics that range from PHILOSOPHY to PHOTOGRAPHY and everything in between. How do I make a selection? I simply follow what I feel, am inspired by or curious about at the MOMENT.

The WONDERFUL thing I have noticed is, once you begin to read, one book leads to ANOTHER. Whether the inspiration comes from the subject matter, or a word that captures your attention and curiosity, reading becomes a continuous CYCLE that SPARKS THE MIND. My Book List grows continuously and steadily; and I am all the BETTER because of it. The IMPACT and POWER of reading, of words, are indispensable.

Similar to everything in life, a Book List becomes a personal JOURNEY, one path leading to another.

These are some of the titles on my Book List (that began around December) thus far:

• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (began reading it Summer 2010)
• A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
• An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi
• Let My People Go by Chief Luthuli
• The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho
• Girl With the Golden Eyes & The Unknown Master Piece by Honore de Balzac
• I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Isaac Newton
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
• The Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier,
• The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
• True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Decoded by Jay-Z

Note:

What is your Book Journey? Do you have any recommendations?

With Love,

Minou