Welcome!

Welcome to Reading, Eating, Running.

I am taking a moment today to start this off with a little intro, even though I've been posting to this blog for a week or so.  I think it's time.

My name is Stephanie.  In the last few years, I have found myself trying to write multiple blogs.

The first was Quest for the Great American Novel, which I started in 2010.  On that blog, I read, a lot, and blogged about each book I read.  It initially began because my brother compiled multiple "must read" lists, and I decided to tackle it (a list of over 2000 books) to find the Greatest 20th Century American Novel.  And even though that page still gets a lot of visits (it's been viewed 230+ times today, and I've only posted 3 times in 2013!) it has become something I don't want it to be.  Firstly, because I found myself reading books that weren't on the list, as many of the "Great" novels weren't all they were cracked up to be!  Secondly, I found myself almost dreading the posts.  It seemed like every time I read something, I had to write a book report about it.  Gah.  Sometimes I just want to read for fun, ok?  I even tried consolidating all the books I read in a month, but by the time I got to that post, it was just a collection of pictures and titles and who all else knows...

"And anyway, reading for enjoyment is what we should all be doing. I don't mean we should all be reading chick lit or thrillers (although if that's what you want to read, it's fine by me, because here's something no one else will tell you: if you don't read the classics, or the novel that won this year's Booker Prize,then...then nothing bad will happen to you; more importantly,nothing good will happen to you if you do); I simply mean that turning pages should not be like walking through thick mud. The whole purpose of books is that we read them, and if you find you can't, it might not be your inadequacy that's to blame. "Good" books can be pretty awful sometimes." Nick Hornby - The Polysyllabic Spree

The second blog that I started was started here on blogger, but became a facebook page: New Adventures in Veganism.  I have been a vegetarian since the age of 10, so that means that I've not eaten meat in almost 30 years.  I toyed with veganism in high school and college, and off and on in my 20s, but wasn't successful with that until 2010 when I successfully made the decision to cut all animal products out of my life.  I've never felt better!  Now, don't get me wrong, I think that what you eat is equivalent to who you want to love, and how you want to find happiness.  I would like it if people agreed with me, but I'm not pressed about it.  My daughter is a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and that works for her.  My husband is a part-time vegan, part-time carnivore.  It's an individual decision.  That being said, however, I do most of the shopping and cooking in the house, so I keep a vegan kitchen.  I love to try new recipes  and love to cook & eat.

Then, in the last year, I took up running.  I've never been a runner, and always thought that I could never be a runner.  But I've been trying to live the good life- good food, exercise, etc.  and I already loved to walk, so  it seemed natural to make that switch.  It was a long slow process, and I am still not fast, but each day I get better at it.  I haven't been blogging about it, but I have been posting about it in online forums and with Dailymile.

Hence the title of the new blog: Reading, Eating, Running!

Makes sense now, doesn't it?

So, in an effort to minimalize, I will be maintaining only one blog.  This one.  And I'll talk about all three things, and maybe some other stuff too.  Who knows what will tickle my fancy?