#imreading

Growing up I was a voracious reader. I learned to read at 3 years old and was reading 12th grade. level in the 4th grade. I would read anything—the library was my happy place. I was the kid who had my nose in a book. Never left home without it. I continued to barrel through books until my son was born. The hours I would have spent reading were spent caring for my child.

Except for reading magazines and the occasional boo, reading went by the wayside for years. A few years ago, I decided to start reading again. I joined the Goodreads challenge, pledging to read 52 books a year. And, while I did it for years, and was glad to get back to reading, it felt more like a competition! By the time the end of the challenge came in December, as crazed trying to cram in the last few books! Worse, I couldn’t remember most of the books I read, I was going for quantity not quality.

I finally had enough and stopped myself. Reading has always been a source of peace and joy for me, and I was not feeling any of that.

I wanted to slow down and take my time, reading at my own pace. It’s been great. Sometimes I’ll read one page, sometimes I’m up all night.

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Rest Is A Portal. Silence Is A Pillow.

This summer instead of my usual blog posts, I am turning Ki Notes into a Summer Reading Club, one that will carry us through to Fall 2023.

For your consideration, I suggest a summer reading: Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey. Her website calls it "a call to action and manifesto for those who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture."

I don’t want to rush to finish yet another book. I want to meditate on every word and give it the respect she did when she wrote it.

For the last decade, I’ve been writing a book about my two decades as head of Woman's Ministry in a Black Church. I’m halfway there, but it won’t write itself. Not with me scrolling all day on these apps! So, for the next 90 days, I’m going to focus on writing this baby.

I’ve got a tree in my yard that has a swing beneath it. I have wanted this my whole life. If you want to know where I am, I’ll be under that tree, with a cool drink and a book…swinging and day-dreaming. In between writing, swinging, and daydreaming, I’ll occasionally share my thoughts about my Summer read, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey of @thenapministry, over in my Facebook Group: The S.h.e Collective. (Link in bio). Drop by!

*The Kindle version is on sale for a very limited time “See” you in September! Pray for me!