The Reading Life of Shah

In August I went to Mexico for a month and besides seeing pyramids, walking around the winding streets of Mexico City, and swimming in the Caribbean, I read. The month before I had gotten married and this was our honeymoon, but for my husband and I, it was a vacation of reading. Some days we spent hours in a cafe or in a plaza reading, finishing an entire book in a day. It was a relief in a way, to have so much time to read and to read anything I wanted. The month before we were consumed by wedding preparations, visiting family, and entertaining friends. Reading became something we would only do on the subway, going from one place to the other. But in Mexico our days were open and unplanned, and while we felt the urge to run around the country and see the sights, we felt a stronger urge to read.

It seems a little strange to go to a foreign country to escape New York for a while and spend half your time there escaping through books. But sometimes, books can be the best way through which to see the world around you. One of the books I read, 1968: The Year that Rocked the World, was about the student rebellions around the world. One of the biggest movements was in Mexico City, and as I walked around the UNAM campus (the big university in the city) I kept seeing images of the book around me, young people rising up in protest and clashing with the police. It made visiting the college campus - something relatively boring - exciting.

However, the day after I got back from Mexico, time disappeared. School started (at least for the teachers - the students still had a few days left) and all the pressures of work and life returned with a vengeance. In Mexico, Chris and I had decided that we would try to read for an hour every day when we got home. Within my first week back in New York, I was again only reading on the subway, too exhausted to pick up a book at the end of the day. Most of what I was reading were articles about teaching or about history. I had a new group of students and it felt like I was starting all over again as a teacher. It was not exactly relaxing reading and definitely not about escape. Instead, what I was reading got me deeper into teaching and humanities, which was probably what I needed in September, October, and November.

And then, in January, when I was almost completely burnt out from work, I decided to change my reading life and force myself to make time to read other things. I needed to read fiction again and escape a bit from real life. So I started the Harry Potter series. I had read the first book a year ago and though I liked it, I didn't really love the second one. It wasn't as exciting. But I forced myself to get through book 3, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and by book 4, I was totally hooked. I was almost obsessed and I talked about Harry and Hermione and Ron with anyone who would listen. When I finished the last book in March I felt like I was moving away from close friends and for a few days I was in a daze. I actually missed Hogwarts.

Now, I think I've gained some balance as a reader. I am finding time to read, books that help me with my work and others that help me escape from my work. Finding this balance has been the best way I've grown as a reader this year. Instead of feeling pressure to read about teaching and history all the time and then eventually getting sick of it, I make sure I'm always reading some fiction. Though fiction helps me escape, in some ways it also helps me stay connected to the real world. When I'm reading a good book, I feel like I can connect better with my students as readers, and make better sense out of life in general.

Now let's see what the summer brings....