I spend too much time on my electronic devices.

My phone is usually the first thing I pick up in the morning and the last thing I plug in at night. Yes, I still have an alarm clock; I was just thinking about this the other day I will most likely keep using it until it dies and then probably not replace it, because why?

Then I go for the iPad. I have two; 1 is ancient but still works, and the other is a newer version, complete with the keypad and lovely all in one carrying case. OK not lovely but it works.

I have a routine: emails first, just checking, not necessarily writing. Check messenger, then Facebook. Then I play a game or two, including FarmVille: I’m afraid I’m slightly addicted to it. It’s one of the first things I do in the morning and one of the last things at night, and, if I’m doing well, I can play for a couple of hours in a stretch.

This is not good, because this is the time I could be spending reading–maybe up to an hour or two a day.

So as part of my new revolution/revolutions, I am going to set aside at least an hour a day to read, for pleasure.

Years ago, I used to go to the library and buy the books they were discarding –paperbacks for a quarter and hard covers for a buck–murder mysteries for me and sci-fi for my ex. They were perfect beach books, and for taking on vacation, where you could read each in a few sittings at most and then leave them for someone else to pick up. And then I’d have new space in my suitcase to bring something new home with me. Nw I’m told the library doesn’t have these tables anymore, which is a shame.

I still have some of these books that I haven’t read. They are usually fast reads, I can finish them in a few days at most. Yet they’re still sitting there.

I also have a bunch of Vanity Fair magazines. I love the articles in them and they seem to have a very long shelf life, although I just started reading one with Jennifer Lawrence on the cover that talks about the release of a movie that came out 18 months ago at least (actually I just checked and it says holiday 2017 on the spine so there you go). I also have some Sunday New York Times book reviews and magazines, which don’t take a lot of time but they’re still there and their months old.

And then I have a stack of new books. I had a gift card from a friend and I went to buy The Strategic Storyteller. It’s good; it reads like a bunch of blog posts so it’s easy to pick up and put down, yet I’ve been reading it for at least three months (sigh) and I found out that the gift card was way bigger than I thought so I bought the Trump and Clinton books they were also both 30% off and a couple of others… but as you can see, there are others in the stack I need to get to as well others I am sure I will be infinitely more interesting than those two.

Here are two that should be at the top of this pile:

Doctor Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall, written by my friend, Suzette Meyer. I heard her read an excerpt of a chapter some months ago, and liked it enough to grab a copy that night. A copy that I have yet to read.

Late Nights On Air, by Elizabeth Hay, a book gifted to me by my friend Ken. It’s about being a journalist in the Canadian north, a place that is always fascinating.

So those are numbers one and two on the reading list, and I will begin them as soon as I can.

And then what?

What should I read? I’m looking for a few good suggestions. I’m thinking they should be light, and easy to get me back into making this a regular occurrence.

Sue suggested I read the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon. I just looked at the covers and they look pretty Harlequin-esque… but I will try one and see if it leads to others…

But what else? Read any good books lately? I like murder mysteries, I like easy-to-read biographies, I like history when it’s done right; I like humor.

And please bear with me I’m looking for real books, hardcovers and paperbacks. I might eventually get around to Kindling myself silly but until I wean myself off the iPad I think I’ll stick to the real thing. There’s really nothing that compared to can compare to physically holding a book.

Send me some suggestions!