by Jessie Mattis @JessieMattis

Am I the only one who doesn’t have a type? Not the dark hair vs. light hair, athletic vs. brainiac types. I’m talking romance, suspense, self-help types. Also known as… genres. 🙂

I’ve loved to read since the 80s when I was sounding out words with my Alphie robot toy. Fiction was the name of the game through high school and college, largely because textbooks took up my nonfiction brain space. After college, nonfiction soon rounded out my fiction obsession. Theology and self-help books became my regulars as I explored the wisdom and beliefs of others regarding Christianity, marriage, and child rearing. My reading life, and probably yours too, has been a journey.

With age often comes the feeling of being a bit more settled; more established in your beliefs and confident in your own knowledge. These days, nonfiction doesn’t seem as crucial to figuring out life. Now, when I choose nonfiction, it’s for a very specific reason.

join us today, as Jessie Mattis shares about her chaotic reading life #Brrc #Reading #Readinglife Share on X

Some readers embrace a type. They delight in reading each and every contemporary Christian romance they can get their hands on. Or suspense. Or historical. They dive deep, and I think it’s awesome!

I, however, am not that person. My tastes are a bit eclectic, but I’m guessing I’m not alone. Raising and homeschooling three kids gives me great opportunities to read aloud or preview books I’m going to assign them. My Christian faith leads me to great nonfiction books. A deep appreciation for my country leads to me to fiction and nonfiction alike. Writing Christian historical fiction leads me to read a wide variety of fiction, and being a student of literature leads me to classics.

What does this look like in real life? Here are the last ten books I’ve read, which I only remember thanks to Goodreads (ha!):

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• The Grunt Padre: The Service and Sacrifice of Father Vincent Robert Cappodano by Father Daniel Mode
• Out of the Water by Ann Marie Stewart
• When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
• The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis
• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
• Sacred Work: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Leadership in the Marketplace by Peggy Bodde
• Animal Farm by George Orwell

Here’s the breakdown of my reading life over the past six months: Out of ten books total, six are fiction, four are nonfiction, two are cautionary political fiction for my own interest/research and also to assign my high schooler, two I read with my younger daughter, one was for a friend’s book launch, and one was research for my 1970s era work-in-progress.

See what I mean? All over the map.

Humans are complex. We have countless interests and responsibilities, and reading various genres helps feed each area of our minds. Maybe one day I’ll find myself deep diving into one specific genre … but until then, I think I’ll sit back and embrace the always-interesting chaos that is my reading life. Won’t you join me?

 

Jessie Mattis is a Jesus-loving wife, homeschooling mom, and award-winning author. Her debut middle grade novel, Power Up, won the 2020 Christian Indie Award and was a 2020 Selah Award finalist. She is one of six authors who contributed a novella for the 2021 release, Christmas from the Heart: A Collection of Christmas Romances.

Jessie is driven to inspire others to embrace the adventure of holding tight to Jesus through the ups and downs of life, and she loves using fiction to do so.

Jessie resides in Bloomington, Indiana with her husband, Chip, and their three amazing kids. Road trips, reading, and laughing with family and friends are some of her favorite things. A mug of black coffee is never far from reach, and any day she doesn’t have to put on shoes is a good day.

Connect with her on her website or on social media—she would love to hear from you! Find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, and receive a free historical romance ebook, Love on a Whim, when you sign up for her monthly newsletter.