I fell in love with reading the first time I picked up a Junie B. Jones book.
“My name is Junie B. Jones,” opens each installment in the series that follows the adventures of a spunky Kindergartener. “The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B and that's all.”
Junie was gregarious, curious, inquisitive, confident. She was unafraid of the adult world. She found fun wherever she went. She was the first character in which I ever saw myself.
From a very young age, reading allowed me moments of reprieve. In reading I found challenge and perspective and growth. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have a book waiting for me to dive into.
My most prolific year of reading as an adult was, naturally, 2020. Between staying home during the pandemic and getting laid off from my job (also covid related), I read 34 books that year. That’s 34 stories explore, 34 authors I got to know, 34 narratives that revealed something about the world.
This year, I have only read a meek 13 books.
I’ll blame this one, yet again, on wedding brain. This Substack has also been the longest sustained writing project I’ve committed to in my life, and learning how to manage my writing time has proven to be a, uh, less than easy task.
Anyway. I still love reading. It’s the purest form of escape I’ve ever known. It has opened up my mind in ways I can’t even fathom. I am addicted to learning from story. I have deeply felt the absence of reading in my life this past year.
For this week’s discussion post, I’m looking to inspire myself to kickstart my reading habits. I’m looking to you, dear readers, to help me beef up my “To Be Read” pile.
Tell me:
Who’s your favorite Midwestern writer? What Midwestern writer makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you question everything you thought you knew? Which writer captures the Midwest perfectly? What’s the most recent book you read that took place in the Midwest? Is there a book that you’d love to know my thoughts on?
Let’s read together.
The Midwest Creative is a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Please consider a subscription to my colleagues’ work to support storytelling across the state of Iowa. All of these authors provide content for free, with paid subscription options. Pick one or more, and help sustain this movement.
It's not a recent book or really a "Midwestern" author, but A Thousand Acres is still a classic.