When I was a kid, I was reading during any moment in time that I wasn't doing something else. Yes, there was a stage when I read an awful lot of comic books, but I was reading books then, too. I think it made me not be a reading snob, which is a good thing for a school librarian. I figure that if you're reading, and it's something you enjoy, well, okay. You're reading, and that's a good thing.
When I was an English major in college, I totally devoured certain authors: Hemingway, Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Shakespeare. I've read my small share of bestseller-y fiction, but it's not really my thing. I do, though, love all of those James Michener sagas: Hawaii, Centennial, et al. I LOVE Centennial; funny, I never think to put it on a list of favorites. But it is.
Here's the thing: in the last few years -- maybe even ten years -- I haven't been able to read the same way I used to. I've been saying that I just lost my long-term attention span with menopause, but I really don't think that's it. It has been a pain to read a book (as opposed to a magazine article) with progressive lenses; it's just so hard to find the tiny little "sweet spot" where the reading part is. I would keep moving my head from side to side, like I was watching a tiny little tennis match, and it got on my nerves.
I would only read things that really grabbed me, like Harry Potter, or were familiar and comfortable: Star Trek novels, the Cadfael mysteries, the whole The Cat Who ... series, until they all turned into the same story again and again. Sometimes I could get into something else, like the huge John Adams biography that took me a month to read. Sometimes not.
Which is just to say that I just read a book, a real book, and then I went to Borders and bought a whole bunch more. My cousin suggested that since she had to read To Kill a Mockingbird for a book club, I might read it again myself, so we can talk about it when I visit her. I hadn't read it in 30 years -- maybe more -- although I had read it a few times back then. Well, I don't have to tell you how wonderful it is. I did remember that, of course, but not having read it as an adult, I don't think I had the appreciation for the amazing beauty and magic of the writing.
So now I'm all stocked up for the trip to Colorado on Friday. I feel like I just re-connected with my best friend from childhood, and that we just picked up right where we left off. Nice, very nice.
And now, a quick This-or-That-Tuesday
1. Strawberries or blueberries? strawberries
2. "Legally Blonde 2" or "Terminator 3"? Legally Blonde 2
3. Hamburgers or hot dogs? hot dogs
4. Boating or hiking? hiking
5. Suntan lotion or sunblock? sunblock
6. "Big Brother" or "The Amazing Race"? neither
7. Beach Boys or Jimmy Buffett? both, but mostly Beach Boys
8. Grow your own produce or buy from supermarket/greengrocer/farm stand? buy
9. Drive with car windows/top down, or with air-conditioning on? I hate wind! A/C all the way.
10. Go away for vacation, or stay at home? Hmm. A little bit of away, mostly home.
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I'm watching The Golden Girls
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Sweet Sorrow - 06.12.2007
So ... - 12.19.2006
Christmastime Is Near - 12.18.2006
Fifteen Years - 12.17.2006
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