I'd Rather Be Reading: Now, Isn't That the Truth?

I am a bookworm. I spend most of my disposable income on bookish things, be it Book of the Month, a Shelf Subscription from The Bookshelf in Thomasville. book-themed t-shirts, or a new hardback I think I've earned after a grueling week. Books are my thing. I show up to work every Friday in a t-shirt from Bookshelf Tees and vans, and usually when I'm introduced to someone new, something is said about how much I read. Recently, my best friend became a reader and few things excite me more than a late night text from her about a book we've both read. I've driven four hours to meet my fellow bookworms, like Annie Jones and Anne Bogel at The Bookshelf. And now, Anne Bogel has written a book about people just like me.

These are my four current reads, all of which are somehow related to Anne Bogel - I'd Rather Be Reading, her new release, I'll Be Your Blue, her book club's August pick, and Middlemarch and A Gentleman in Moscow, two group reads through modernmrsdarcy.com.

If you consider yourself a bookworm, I'd Rather Be Reading is a book about you. Anne has written over twenty essays about "the delights and dilemmas of the reading life," and every one addresses something I have experienced in my own reading life. She writes of worrying about your bookshelves, and deciding to redecorate or reorganize them for the third time this year, or discovering that not everyone is going to love a book just because you did. She discusses the richness you can find in reading an author's note or acknowledgements, but also of skipping over most introductions in novels - we only have so much time to read, and we must not waste any time on extra words. Anne reminds you that while you might feel alone sometimes as a book nerd, you're not - there are so many of us that would rather be reading.

Anne's name may sound familiar because she is also the woman behind the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog (modernmrsdarcy.com) and the "What Should I Read Next?" podcast. She's an avid reader, and she understands the stresses of your library holds coming in all at once, or trying to decide which book to read next when your last three have been duds. I've been following both the blog and the podcast for the last year, and I recently joined the online book club through her blog, called the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club, and it's such a delight.

Anne Bogel's book releases September 4th, but it's available for preorder now wherever books are sold. If you decide to preorder, take your receipt over to IdRatherBeReading.com to receive preorder bonuses, like digital artwork from the book, a free digital download of the audiobook that Anne reads herself, and access to Anne's online class, "7 Ways to Get More Out of Your Reading Life." This little book is a perfect gift for your bookworm friends, or a gift to yourself - after all, wouldn't we all rather be reading?