Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life

by Gretchen Rubin

As an ardent fan of children’s literature, I’ve started three children’s literature reading groups. Yes, three.

Sometimes we don't read what we want to read, because we think we "should" read something else. Shouldn't I be reading sophisticated contemporary fiction instead of re-reading Harry Potter? Some people feel the same way about mysteries, thrillers, romances, graphic novels, and so on. The problem is that we end up reading less, because we're less enthusiastic about what we're reading. Now that I embrace my love of children's and young-adult literature, I read much more of those books--and I also read much more sophisticated contemporary fiction. Reading leads to more reading. (If you want my list of my 81 favorite works of children's literature, you can download it at gretchenrubin.com/resources.)