Truth or Fiction? Part 2

The "sharp turn" in my reading habits coincided, quite frankly, with that fateful and blessed e-mail correspondence during which I got to know Husband... prior to his taking on the title. As it seemed more likely that we might be a good match, and as we became more and more curious about each other and this strengthening relationship, I started looking for some helpful source of unbiased advice. Unbiased, because I had obviously become a hopelessly biased person regarding him and the future of our relationship!

I found myself ordering books such as The Five Love Languages, and The Mystery of Marriage: Meditations on the Miracle. Husband would recommend a book to me, and then I would recommend one to him, and on we went, trying to read the books at the same time while I lived in California and he in Hawaii and then Washington. Our interests coalesced around books that shed light on personality and relationships, the books that tend to be misguidedly classified as "self-help" in some bookstores.

I didn't need, or I had lost interest in, the novels at that point; my own story had just gotten a lot more interesting and "real" than any of the fiction I'd read.

Then as we married, I went through a whole array of life changes: a new husband, a move to a different region, a new job, new mostly-grown stepkids, building a new house, and so on. The job I'd taken on was all-consuming and stressful. I missed my old job. I missed my old home. I missed my old surroundings. And I felt guilty for doing so. If you'd asked me what I was reading at that point, I'd have responded: "Reading? When do I have time to read?" or "Books about my new career." Reading material wasn't a personal getaway at that point, it was chosen in an attempt to survive.

So my dramatic shift into "Life, Part 2" also moved my reading tastes completely into the zone of reading for information. I now read for ideas, for inspiration, for helpful things to make my life or job better, or simply for interesting real-life information.

The novels have pretty much disappeared from the scene now. When I pick one up--such as June Bug--the one I just read by Chris Fabry--I find myself reading quickly, almost bored, annoyed by the unreality of it and impatient with the amount of time it's taking me to read something that's "just a story."

I know, I've become a pitiful creature.

But in moving from fiction to nonfiction, my reading tastes have mirrored my life needs. And it's all okay. I'm reading books about physical health, about emotionally warped churches, and about leadership, about denominational history, and about how to hear God's voice. In fact, the latter has been my most recent, in the form of The Sacred Echo by Margaret Feinberg, an author and speaker I learned of in the final issue of "Today's Christian Woman," a magazine that has just gone defunct. I love the book. (I'd love to hear Feinberg speak.) I'll review it here when I'm done.

So what will "Life, Part 3" bring in terms of life changes and literary shifts? Who can tell? God often chooses not to draw back the merciful veil until we have quite unwittingly stepped a ways beyond it. The good news is, there will be good books to read in "Life, Part 3, as well. I am confident of that.

I'd be interested in your comments reflecting on what you're reading right now, and whether you, too, have seen your genres shift over time. Do tell.