Hey, don’t we all just want to have a little fun now and again? Don’t we deserve it?
My point?
Reading is one of the greatest luxuries in life and yet, it truly does provide a path to fun. But sometimes the respite of reading brings a little guilt. You’re trading time with family, friends, and other important activities for this indulgence. Therefore, many people feel a little guilt when it comes to reading, and possibly writing. There is a lot of context and focus on how one should not feel guilty about relaxation time, including NPR’s article citing this ingrained “voice” that we are not being productive.
Therapists and mental health experts continually remind that not only is resting and relaxation a necessary counterbalance to productivity, helping sustain the body and mind, but many successful leaders, productivity experts, and creatives know that fun time sparks the imagination. Creative solutions and inspiring ideas are the result of time away from the office “or the challenge.”
With this in mind, we all just want to have a little fun.
Now that we know it’s okay, I’ll get to the crux of my point—fun reads. Everyone has different tastes in books. If you’re like me, you have a variety of interests. One of which is the beach read. I love a good story that has a little romance, suspense, thrills, mystery, and well, anything that lets me relax and escape. You also know that I write books with a combination of the above-mentioned genres.
Yet, what I tend to see touted everywhere is the need for more business books, self improvement guides, and literary tomes. Books that tackle complex issues, trending topics, and are built on controversial headlines. Hey, that’s fantastic. I LOVE these books. As a ghostwriter, I write them, so, yeah, I get it. More importantly, I honor the authors who can craft a great read that heightens my awareness and inspires me to action.
But sometimes I don’t want to think, I just want to feel, and well, have fun.
When I’m on an honest-to-goodness work break, I want to put down the educational read for a few hours. want to be transported and just laugh and smile or imagine what life would be like if I were the protagonist of that book. There are days when a good fantasy or romance is just what the ‘therapist’ ordered for me to let go of work and unwind. So cheers to my fellow writers. You inspire me every day. But come on, fess up. Sometimes, girls (and everyone else) just want to have fun. Am I right?