When I first started this blog, I wanted it to be all about nonfiction. I loved sharing insights from books that helped me think deeper, question more, and sometimes just take simple notes, like the little summary sections you’ll see in most of my reviews here.

For a few years, I read nonfiction like crazy. I had piles of book reviews and summaries drafted, so many that they still haven’t all made it to the blog. Meanwhile fiction was my occasional break. But eventually, all that heavy thinking caught up with me. I felt mentally tired, just like I shared in The Emotional Cost of Being a Reader.

To cope, I started reading poetry (something I also wrote about in How Poetry Helped My Burnout and Anxiety). And then, slowly, I picked up some classic fiction. Not for analysis. Just to enjoy. Just to feel.

I started writing down lines I loved in my commonplace book. Some passages were so moving I kept going back to them. The more I read, the more I wanted to share, not just in my notebook, but here on the blog too.

What surprised me was how different some of my favorite parts were from what others shared online. That made me want to add my own voice. Not to argue or disagree, but to make space for the parts that moved me. To make them findable and live outside the pages of my notebook.

That’s why I finally created a fiction category on this blog. You’ll find it under the “Reading Life” section. It’s where I’ll post quotes, thoughts, and reflections from the fiction books I’m reading, especially the ones that stay with me long after I close the book.

This blog is still rooted in nonfiction. But sometimes, a good story is exactly what I need to feel alive again.

Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this new Fiction Books category in my book blog as much as I’ve enjoyed reading (and rereading) these books.