Take Reading to the Next Level: Go Beyond the Book
Authored By: Laura Bray
Reading for pleasure is great but reading as a hobby is even better. Like anyone who loves to read, you will often find me immersed in the story, but I also take my reading into other areas of my life.
I passionately believe that reading can change your life. It is a way to discover new interests and connect with your community. Here are a few ways to go beyond the book.
Travel Adventures
If you look hard enough, you can find a book that takes place anywhere. While you are reading, note the setting and how it makes you feel. Does the book take place in a real city or country? Dive deeper and note if takes place outside, inside, in a rural place, a city, a bookstore, a cottage? How does the book’s setting make you feel? Do you dream of working in a small bookshop? Are you drawn to books that take place in Scotland? Do you harbor fantasies of living in a log cabin in the woods like the Ingalls family in Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder?
Keep track of your answers in a journal and you will start to see patterns, use this information to make a travel wish list. Noticing where you like to go in books might just lead you to a trip of a lifetime.
Even if you can’t travel, let books take you places. In 2024, Prairie Pages read Under the Tuscan Sun and author Frances Mayes joined us to talk about the book from her beautiful home in Tuscany. I know we felt like we spent two hours in the Italian countryside, all without leaving home!
Culinary Inspiration
Cookbooks and food memoirs are inspiring, but you can also find culinary inspiration in novels too. Jot down meal descriptions that make you hungry then go in search of the recipes.
Sometimes the authors of novels that feature food descriptions in their books will include recipes in the backs of the books or on their websites, sometimes you need to go in search of them. Either way, it is fun to make the dishes you read about appear on your dinner table!
Don’t just pay attention to recipes. You can find great meal ideas in novels. One of my personal favorite things to do is to collect picnic descriptions from novels and keep them in my kitchen journal. When I get the chance to go on a picnic, I use the descriptions to fill my picnic hamper with food beyond the usual sandwiches and chips.
Creative Hobbies
Looking for a new creative outlet? Think about the hobbies of your favorite characters for ideas. In 2024, Prairie Pages read Ann Hood’s The Knitting Circle and it led to quite a few trips to yarn shops for many of us. Start paying attention to the hobbies of your favorite characters and you just might find a new creative outlet.
Find Community
Last, but not least, books can help you find a community of book-loving souls. Whether it is in person or online, reading and discussing a book together is a terrific way to make friends and feel less lonely. Who knows, maybe you will meet someone to travel, cook, or share a hobby with?
The Modern Prairie community is great resource to connect with others and explore new interests and hobbies. Join the Prairie Pages book club, sign-up for cooking and craft classes, get travel tips, and make friends.