As I think about the end of another year, what stands out the most to me from 2022 — aside from covering important stories for the Truckee/North Tahoe region and raising a child — is the number of books I have read.
“Read” seems too tame a word; “inhaled” might be more accurate: I’ve always been insatiable.
Since 2017 I’ve had a goal to read at least 50 books a year, inspired by and tracked through the website Goodreads. (Book lovers, you need an account.) This year I’ve read more than 80, filling in the cracks of my life with hard copies and audiobooks. There’ve been many late nights where I didn’t want to go to bed, and many early mornings where I couldn’t wait to get up — all because a good book had captured my heart. I’ve experienced book hangovers (where the story is done and I’m left missing a world and its characters) and book dread, when a story dragged, and I couldn’t finish it. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried … I’ve even whispered “I love you” to a few books upon return to the library.
While Moonshine Ink provides a deep dive via written word into the real world of our region, about its trials and triumphs, books can take us out of our current realities and into worlds of fantasy and science. They can motivate us to do better; they can give insight into subjects we’ve never considered. They can do all of the above and more.
In a world that is increasingly digital, I’m grateful for our brick-and-mortar libraries and bookstores that stick around, as well as for the Little Free Libraries that homeowners and businesses have installed on their properties and that inspire reading for free. (I’m about to install one in my front yard and it may very likely become one of the happiest moments of my life.)
In my opinion, both good days and bad days should end curled up with a book, so that’s my invitation to Moonshine Ink readers this holiday: Sit down with a good book next to the fire, munch on cookies if you have ’em, and avoid the ski traffic.
I’m always eager to add recommendations to my to-read list, so if you have a book that moved you, please email me: alex@moonshineink.com. I’m due for another story to fall in love with.
