Never Too Busy for Books

How Motherhood Changes Reading Habits

By Catherine K. Enders Carlton

Everything changes when a woman adjusts to pregnancy and then motherhood, even her reading habits. Many moms who were avid readers have found or made time to read for fun, while others have adapted their reading choices to include books on childrearing and shorter pieces.

Amy Schindler of New York City found that becoming a mom made her much pickier in her leisure reading. "I am, and was always, [an avid reader]," says Schindler, who is a graduate student and teacher at Columbia University with an almost 2-year-old daughter. "Before I was pregnant, and even while I was pregnant, I would read any type of fiction because I had lots of time. Now I have to be much more selective," she says. "So if I pick up a book, and it doesn't grab me within the first two pages, I won't keep reading. I don't have that much spare time to waste on a book I don't love."

Jeanette Hicks of Lockport, Ill., is thinking about starting a book club with moms-only members. She says their reading commitments and tendencies are different from those of other women. A book club for moms can also be a way to meet new people, form friendships and have company, she adds.

"As a mom ... it can be really isolating. It would be good to have something to do besides Baby," says Hicks, who has a daughter who is almost 1. "You are reading and talking about things other than children. A lot of people I meet now only talk about babies ... It's hard to get friendship beyond that point."

Hicks belonged to a book club in New York before she moved to Illinois. The group she belonged to would rotate the role of choosing a book and hosting the meetings at their home. "It was great, because it really became more like a support group than a literary thing," she says "It was a 'girls' night out.'"

Hicks says she tries to arrange her trips back to New York to coincide with a book club meeting, so she can visit with the other members. "It's really funny, but I do," she says.

Hicks, who preferred novels, says another benefit of book clubs was the diverse topics and styles of books she read. "I was pretty set in my ways," she says. "And then being in a book club expanded my horizons because someone else was choosing the book."

Schindler says that her friends will often share books, like an informal book club. "A lot of times we will trade books," she says. "If there is one book that one of us thinks is particularly good, we'll share. Nothing formalized, but if one book is fantastic, it goes around."

Want to see more?

• iParenting Book Club
• Bonding With Books: Creating a Parent/Child Bookclub
• You Deserve a Break Today: New Moms Need Nurturing, Too
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