Some Sage Relationship Advice

Today my husband and I celebrate our seven year anniversary.

Seven years ago today, we were given some sage relationship advice by the man who married us: always read a book together.

We haven’t always been great about reading together. The last seven years have been extremely busy with my husband and me going to college, him going to post-graduate school full-time afterward, and on top of it all us trying to raise 3 kiddos. I’d like to say we’ve read a lot of books together, but the truth is, we haven’t.

We’ve read a lot on our own though, at different times of the day. Cameron wakes up early and goes to bed early, and I stay up late. We’ve always been opposites like that, him being the early bird and me being the night owl. So Cameron reads in the morning before work, and I read at night while Cameron’s asleep. The only time we really have to read together is a short window after the kids are in bed, and that is usually reserved for cleaning the house after the kid-nado ripped through it.

That being said, we’ve been trying harder to both find time to read together AND books we can both enjoy. My husband is a die-hard fantasy fan (Brandon Sanderson, J.R. Tolkein, etc), and I am a historical fiction gal (ok, well that isn’t set in stone. I did love reading The Hobbit and am finishing up reading the Harry Potter series right now). That doesn’t mean we haven’t found books that appeal to both of us.

Recently, we saw the new Hunger Games book ( The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins) and had to buy it as our new couple’s book. We’ve been reading it together at night and have got a good system now. I clean the kitchen while Cameron reads it aloud, or I read while Cameron folds laundry. Reading together helps us spend time together (and be productive) while also enjoying the hobby we both love – reading.

The last book we read, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions by Dan Arielly, allowed us to have thought-provoking discussions that centered on something besides parenting and work. Those thought-provoking discussions are constructive and help strengthen the foundation of a good, solid marriage.

So how did we find books that we could both enjoy? We started out by making a list of book genres that we were both interested in. Cameron came up with several books in these genres he thought looked good to read, and then I picked one of the books on his list. This has worked extremely well to ensure that our couple’s book is something we can both enjoy.

The moral of the story is: reading together helps strengthen the bonds between spouses. My advice to any couple: always read together!