What Are You Reading?

A student recently asked me what I was reading. I assumed she meant what novel did I currently have going, but the sad truth is, I don't read like I used to read. 

Growing up, I used to read at least a book a day. I started my day reading cereal boxes and milk cartons and followed that with books on the bus both to and from school. When I got home, I'd change my clothes, grab a book, and head out to what passed for a barn but was really more of a three-sided shelter and hay storage. When I hit seventh grade, I discovered James Michener's very wordy Centennial (I read anything about the Old West in those days) and that book took me almost a week. I gave up my book a day habit in favor of my new love for epic stories.

I've gone through other cycles in my reading. After the classic Dick and Jane readers, I discovered mysteries. I read all the Nancy Drew books and started on The Hardy Boys. When I was done with those I started with Agatha Christy mysteries followed by gothic mysteries. I went through a horse phase, reading both fiction and non-fiction books on horses and put myself on the public library's waiting list for the Black Stallion mysteries. I discovered historical fiction and read Civil War, numerous European periods, more James Michener, Native American stories, and more.

I no longer read a book a day unless one counts the short children's books I read to my son. My daily reading now consists of book reviews, board minutes, curriculum standards, trade magazines, blogs, texts, and endless emails. I still make time for novels, but don't usually manage more than one a week. 

So what am I reading? Everything. But the novel on my bedside table is The Dead Will Tell, a crime thriller in a series set in Amish country. 

What are you reading?