My idea of Hell is being in a waiting room with nothing to read. Recently, I went to the lab to have some blood drawn in preparation for my wellness visit in a few weeks. I had anticipated a quick in and out as I had previously always experienced. How did I forget about COVID? I quickly ran out of signs on the wall to read and suffered through a two hour wait.
My students back in my teaching days never quite believed me when I told them my mother used to tell me to "put down that book and go outside and play."
It amazes me to hear that some people only read for a while before bed -- a page or two to fall asleep. Or worse, people who consider reading doing nothing or a complete waste of time!
Not being able to read while my eye was healing was the hardest part although eventually I was able to read large print books. Now I can read easily with reading glasses although I did have to trade out my collection of readers for stronger magnification.
Don is never at a loss as to what to get me for my birthday and he is quite the bibliophile himself.
I have been reading from the Gamache detective series by Louise Penny and going back to reread some of the early ones. They take place mostly in Canada, just north of the Vermont border so the setting seems familiar. The last one I read, All the Devils are Here, takes place in Paris and there's nothing wrong with that.
My sister-in-law loaned me the book she was reading when we drove down to Florida -- Ann Patchett's The Dutch House. We both enjoyed it.
Although I have ventured to the local library a few times, mostly I have been rereading from my own bookshelf:
Marilynne Robinson -- Gilead
Joan Anderson -- An Unfinished Marriage
Ann Beattie -- A Wonderful Stroke of Luck (meh)
Peter Heller -- Celine
Francine Prose -- Mister Monkey
I read a lot of nonfiction too, -- poetry, spirituality, and psychology.
Award for longest title on my bookshelves is Songs from a Voice: Being Recollections, Stanzas, and Observations of Abe Runyan, Song Writer and Performer by Baron Wormser. It's a novel loosely inspired by the life and times of Bob Dylan.
Moving was 12 boxes of books which my husband wanted me to throw away. I can never do that. I have books of which I would never ever read again but it was me at 20(Danielle steele) all my books are hard copy. I assume some day I will have to find a place that may want them. I can't throw them away. No matter what one reads, it is far better to read than social media or TV.
ReplyDeleteI used to read more than I do now, if one only considers books. I spend a lot of time on the computer - reading blogs, news articles, and court cases. The latter came about in my last year or two of work. I was being sidelined and often did not have enough to keep me busy. So I found the Canadian legal library and started reading cases. I don't always understand the legalese but the cases can be very interesting, sometimes entertaining, and occasionally frustrating.
ReplyDeleteSummer time is when I read the most, when I get outdoors with my book and a container of water.
Hope your lab work went well.
Me too. The biggest boon for me has been my Kindle. I now have access to my library's complete catalog of books on e-readers. I need to only press a key and the book I want is magically downloaded in my Kindle in under a minute. Some of the best sellers I have to get in line for but it is amazing.
ReplyDeleteWas not familiar with Louise Penny till I read her book with Hilary Clinton, State of Terror. Loved it. May have to check out some of her other books.
Two hours for a blood draw is ridiculous. Even with all there is available to read on my phone I would have run out of material, or interest in two hours.
ReplyDeleteI have read all of Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache novels, and recently read the book she coauthored with HRC. I do find it hard some days to find time to read and am guilty of reading only at bed time where I soon get too sleepy. But not always.
I read a lot more nowadays compared to before Covid. Our library has a great collection of ebooks. Everything is changed with Covid.
ReplyDeleteI have written and published 3 books and numerous newspaper columns. But I don't read and write fiction. Just doesn't appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteI get confused since your blog format and design has changed. It is much cleaner and modern, but I keep forgetting who your are! I love science fiction and have read at least three of those this past month. I do read a lot!
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