Reading for Pleasure, What's That?

As I peruse through blogs and facebook statuses about how many books people have read thus far this year, I can't help but admire their ability to read for fun. I remember as a child I would go through piles and piles of literature, eager to finish and start a new book. It was a common game between myself and friends to see how many books we could read in one month.

When I started college I was bogged down with $800 worth of textbooks each semester, but still managed to slip in a Kimberla Lawson Roby  or Zane book in here and there. Then there was grad school...and the advent of the E- book. Carrying my Kindle along with my medical books I could easily read a novel on the go; though it would take me several months to complete one book.

So when I graduated and got reintroduced to "the real world" I felt like I had finally received my freedom. I scrimmaged through various blogs, searching for the best book lists, ready to go on Book Challenges with the best of 'em.

Then residency hit. Not only was I bogged down with hours of work, I was also expected to read. Not to read my beloved Octavia Butler or Jamaica Kincaid, but rather the tumultuous "ICU Book" and "Rapid Interpretation of EKG's" , amongst others. Once again I've had to put my fiction books aside and instead find joy in reading the diagnosis and treatment of hemorrhoids (I know I know, TMI). Medical research articles, papers, and clinical vignettes have become my new "escape from reality".

                                                    My New Loves

But you know what, rather than feel sorry for myself I'm embracing this new challenge. I figure if I have to read , I might as well read something that will help others and enhance my career. Sure I would totally love to get lost in a steamy novel about a 20 something year old successful woman falling for the mechanic fixing her car (you know you like those books to), but for now priority is telling me to increase my medical knowledge. So until I catch a break I'll just keep bookmarking book lists for the day where I can get lost in someone else's world.

~Akua