Hi! My name is Shaina, and I really like to read.

For as long as I can remember, I've always had my nose buried in a book. (Perhaps minus a few years in college in which I just wanted to stop. reading. things., but I blame academic journals for that one.) Somewhere along the way, I realized that I often couldn't remember the books I read. That made me sad. Isn't the point of reading to take something away from the story? Was I really just moving my eyes across the words, letting them skitter off the glassy surface of my brain? So, I decided to change that.

This blog is mostly a place for me to reflect on what I read. I don't just want to "have read." I want to remember what I read: why I liked it, why I didn't, the parts that made me laugh, or cry, or think. I want to be able to look at my reviews, or the quotes I noted, and be brought back to who, where, what I was, and why I thought this or that in particular mattered. I want to be able to see a book on a shelf and think, "Oh wow, that was great/terrible/funny/not my cup of tea," instead of just, "Hmm, I think I read that once. Maybe."

Another thing: I think other people who read are super cool. Through my first read-a-thon in October 2014 and subsequent reading challenges, I discovered the joys of being a social reader. Sure, I still like to curl up alone (okay, fine, with my cat) and lose myself in a book, but it's so exciting to know there are people out there, a click away, whom I can talk to about it! And who would be happy to talk to me about it!

In summary, I offer this photograph. Old as it is, I think this photo perfectly captures the person I still am today: a voracious reader with a curly mane and a larger-than-average silly side. (I'm still trying to figure out how to work the toilet into all this.)

Happy reading!