I can’t believe it’s Thursday of a new week already, and September has made quite an entrance with wild autumn winds these days.

It was a great, peaceful week last week. The highlight was how much reading I got done during all the rain. Ever since I set myself this little reading marathon challenge, I’ve been reading more consistently every day. One day last week, I read for 210 minutes. That’s more than three hours of reading in a single day. I used to think two hours a day was the best I could do. But once I started choosing reading over TV and simply relaxing, even if it was just for 20 minutes at a time, those little chunks really added up.

A Little Reading Marathon

I started recording my reading minutes every day: 20 minutes before breakfast, 20 minutes after lunch, and more before bed. I felt a strange sense of richness as I looked at those numbers on my calendar. Somehow, it had started to feel completely natural.

I was becoming less interested in scrolling and watching TV. I really like this little reading marathon I set for myself. Now I just want to see how many more minutes I can squeeze into my days. I’m challenging myself to beat that 210-minute mark.

One thing I found really helpful for motivating myself to read more each day was having a few different kinds of books ready. I’m reading David Copperfield for the Fallina Book Club lately, but I find it quite a challenging read, so I can’t really stay with the same book for more than an hour at a time.

So I’ve been mixing my daily reading with some lighter books—some Chinese books about getting up early and staying healthy, as well as a few related to my work. I’ve always had this habit of reading a couple of books at the same time, and I’ve found it especially helpful when I want to squeeze more reading into my day.

And there’s another advantage: I get to buy more books for my shelf now. That is so exciting.

It’s so pleasing to be able to remember and share these little high notes after the day has passed. The moment of reliving good memories is a true treasure.

A Night That Felt Like a Nightmare

And, of course, I have to share one of last week’s low notes too.

It was Friday night. I think I dreamed that I had terrible stomach pain, so I woke up from the dream only to realize that it wasn’t just a dream—it was real.

I fumbled for my medicine box, only to find that there was nothing in it for my stomach. I had cleared it out months ago because most of the pills had expired. I was also trying to rely less on medicine and trust my body a little more, so I never refilled the box.

It was a lot of pain. It felt just as bad as a nightmare. I was so sleepy that night. All I wanted was to take some medicine and surrender to sleep. But I didn’t have anything at hand, so I had to endure it and trust my body to take care of itself.

It was a horrible night. I could still feel the pain in my stomach the next day, but it passed. And that’s great.

Anyway, I think I’ll call it an end to my Week 35 review. Life is good. I’m loving it.

Until next time~