Becoming an Avid Reader
Plus! Writing Nights return in January.
NEW YEAR WRITING NIGHTS · NOW ENROLLING!
I’m here to help you achieve your writing goals in the new year. Join me on Zoom for two hours of weekly writing time, starting on the very first night of 2025.
Every Wednesday for 12 weeks in a row, I’m hosting a community of writers who share a common goal: starting the new year off on the right foot.
Here’s what we’ll do together every Wednesday starting January 1:
7:30-7:40PM EST: 10-minute check-in. We share what we’ll be working on during that evening’s writing time.
7:40-9:20PM EST: 100 blissful, bountiful minutes of camera-off, self-directed writing time.
9:20-9:30PM EST: Wrap up with an optional 10-minute writing progress report.
$30 for 12 weeks of creative accountability. $5 off for paid newsletter subscribers: promo code below the paywall of this newsletter.
ON READING AVIDLY
When it comes to my reading life, I’m either firmly in the saddle or off the horse completely. There is no in-between for me, nor has there ever been.
Reading is the first thing to fall off my plate when life gets busy. And for a writer who earns her living through a cobbled-together ecosystem of jobs that all pertain to books and literature in some form or fashion? Not a great look.
When I’m really in the flow with my reading, I feel my very best. My brain feels buzzy and plump. I’m a better thinker. A stronger writer. A more engaging conversationalist, even. “Great minds discuss ideas,” Eleanor Roosevelt once said. Well, when I’m reading avidly, call me a great mind!
Then why is reading among the most negotiable pastimes for me? I’ve been asking myself this question for decades now. I’ve created space in my days for mandatory writing time, walks with my pup, and good nights of sleep. So why, then, does reading become something I’m too often squeezing in during the last three bleary-eyed minutes of a busy day?
Time is a limited resource. Blah blah blah. I make every excuse in the book (or at least I assume I do, since “the book” is not something with which I’m engaging much.)
When autumn swept in this year with all its bouquet-of-newly-sharpened-pencils energy, I set out to get back in the reading saddle. I knew I was going to need some accountability, though. After all, I’m what The Four Tendencies author Gretchen Rubin refers to as an “obliger,” requiring outer accountability in order to achieve my goals.
So when I found out about Avid: A Workshop for Readers, I immediately signed up.
WHAT IS AVID?
In this four-week-long, self-led course, writer
pairs daily reading time with journaling prompts. The prompts are lovingly designed to help readers get clear on their reasons for wanting to make reading a priority.Outside of a lifelong love of books and stories and the written word, I had never given much thought to my reasons for wanting to be an avid reader. Through Avid, though, I got clearer on reading as a practice and how it factors into the rest of my personal priorities.
The moment I knew this course was going to be the thing that got me reading more was when one of the prompts had to do with reading as a form of self-commitment. I took stock of all the other ways in which I was already committing to myself—through things like writing, movement, eating well (most of the time), resting up, and making this very newsletter. Inventorying my existing healthy habits helped me see that I actually am capable of getting on the reading horse… and, for the first time in my life, staying on said horse.
Now, after completing the Avid workshop, reading finally feels non-negotiable. Here’s a great example of that non-negotiability in action. I had plans to grab a drink with a friend a couple weeks ago, and the day of our get-together, I texted them:
“Actually, do you mind if I meet you there at 6:30 instead of 6? It’s been a busy week for me, and I want to make sure I squeeze in some reading time before I head your way!”
Pre-Avid Hurley never even would have thought to claim this kind of space for her reading. She would’ve had good intentions, saving her reading time for bedtime that night, and then she would’ve nodded off in the middle of her sixth sentence. Not to mention that, the next morning, she would’ve been mean to herself about it!
But I won’t judge myself too harshly if I fall off the reading horse again. After all, one of my favorite things about Avid is that I can return to it at any time: I’ve worked through the course, but I have lifetime access to the prompts. I’m grateful to finally have a tool that not only holds me accountable when I need that kind of framework, but that also helps me re-align with my reading practice from a values standpoint.
(By the way, this isn’t an ad! I’m simply grateful to have come across this workshop and want more people to know about it because it really did work for me.)
Avid costs $100 and is worth every penny. You can sign up here and work through it at your own pace. It is also available to give as a gift, so if someone nice asks you what you want for the holidays this year, send the link their way.
Happy reading. I hope you find your own avid pace.
🤑 BELOW TODAY’S PAYWALL
Recording of Wednesday’s Book Club for Writers meeting. We worked through some excellent prompts from Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature, so grab your notebook and write along with us!
Discount code for $5 off New Year Writing Nights.