Required Reading

If I don't consciously make an effort to eat fresh fruit and veggies, go to bed at a decent hour, and brush my teeth - I won't do them at all. Gross, I know. Luckily for my health, I do manage, but it's definitely not second-nature habits.

The same idea translates over to my literary/cultural "health". Don't get me wrong - I read plenty. We go to the library about once a week. But it's always straight to the fiction and the sci-fi sections for me. I aim for the ones with the shiny covers. Yes, I'm one of those people.

But similar to having two weeks worth of dirty laundry spilling out of the hamper and down the stairs, I always start to feel a bit guilty for my unfettered indulgence.

Pre-wedding I used to have a policy: for every silly pulp fiction book, I'd also read something classic or of literary merit. Such books are timeless for a reason, and I often do like them in the end. I think I have to force myself to start them because bigger words and more complex English take more effort. That and the whole thing just reminds me of book reports (the "summarize" kind), which I single-handedly blame as the reason kids don't like to read otherwise awesome stories. Straight regurgitation is so boring.

Anyway, with Star Wars was Pride and Prejudice.

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With Sookie Stackhouse was Jane Eyre.

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With Hitchhiker's Guide was Ender's Game.

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With the Mortal Instrument series was Dune.

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Well, not really. Dune was just moving waaaay too slowly and I lost patience while lugging the gigantoid book around.

But you get the idea. The system worked fairly well for me, the fun of light reading paired with something worth reflecting on. But then wedding happened and I stopped reading (well, there were blogs, that counts for something right?). Now that wedding is over, I think this process should resume. I've already tackled the light reading portion, as I'm on book 3 of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. (I don't know if I'd recommend, but it's a mix between eye-roll worthy romance novel and historical events. In the least, it has given me an interest in learning about 18th century Scotland, so I consider that merit-worthy.)

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Now I need to pick a new English-class-worthy-book.

(source) Not quite what I meant.

Do you have any favorites? I'm partial to lots of adventure and some good old-fashioned love triangles. I also prefer books with happy endings. The happier, the better. My thought is - if I wanted a depressing "modern ending", I'd just read non-fiction. Or watch the news. :P
How do you make sure to get your literary vegetables? Or maybe you're already a vegetarian?