Reading a novel is not self-indulgent. Repeat.

After yesterday, we know that if you want time, you have to make it. So from now on, I should make time to read. I like reading. And I really love writing. And everything I’ve ever read about how to be a good writer says to read a lot.

My days were full and I never thought about reading. I may have thought of it once I got into bed and saw a stack of unread or unfinished books on my bedside table, but by then I was too tired.

I’m pretty sure the last book I read was Bloom by Kelle Hampton. I came across Kelle’s US blog (Enjoying the Small Things) by accident years ago when she had one little girl a similar age to Elsie. I enjoyed both Kelle’s writing and her photography. Coincidentally, our second daughters arrived at a similar time, but when Kelle’s daughter was placed in her arms in the hospital, she instantly knew something was wrong.

Bloom is a memoir that celebrates the beauty found in the unexpected – baby Nella was born with Down syndrome. Kelle thought she had a perfect life baking cupcakes with her two-year old, but with Nella’s arrival she has learned that perfection comes in all different shapes and that there is amazing power in perspective. I didn’t think that was a bad lesson to learn.

‘The last book you read’ is today’s prompt in Clairey Hewitt‘s I’m Blogging Every Day in May! Do you make time to read? When?