I can't tell you how long it has been since I finished a book. Oh, I've started lots, but they fall by the wayside as life takes over.

I remember very clearly as a young person being mortified at how little my mom read, citing how busy she was (mind you as well, she was a single mother, so she was!). I could not imagine how one could be too busy to READ. Hell, I tore through books by the day sometimes back then, depending on what I was reading.

Now here I am, working my ass off, and far too tired to get through more than a few pages at a time. Which in turn means I don't get into a book as quickly. Which in turn means I abandon it.

So I've gotten very good at reading books of essays, or quirky facts, or just non-fiction generally, because it is a bit easier to drop in and out of. Fact, my friends, are simple to snap up in a few ten minutes a day. Getting into a story? Not so much. Not for me, anyway.

It's also changed everything to live with another person, and have the television or music on (I can't read & have a TV or music or anything on at the same time), and it simply not be in my control to read when I want to.

And I miss it.

I'm creating a little plan for myself to get back into a regular reading schedule over the next few months. In the meantime, I'm really excited to take two or three books to Mexico and not have to do anything but lay in the sun and read them. Hopefully it will revive the reading part of my brain.

Does anyone else hate that they read less as they've grown older? Or, if you don't read less, how do you best make the time for it? I'd love some suggestions as I formulate my own reading strategy. And what are the best books you've read in the past year? Fiction or non? I might just need some good recommendations to get me excited again.