Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Take Time to Read

I did not read a lot as a child. "Why not" I sometimes wonder, because reading is now one of my favorite personal interests - it has been for many years. Of course, I can list a few tangible reasons for my lack of books read as a youth; it's the intangible reasons that are difficult to be certain of, because even though books were available, I did not crave the story, the fantasy, or the bio of another life. Perhaps there were just too many distractions in my own life.

BUT NOW, distractions and all, I get my reading time! I need it. Before I go to sleep at night, I have to read. If I am sitting in an office waiting for an appointment, I have to read. If I sit in the car while my children have after school activities, I have to read. After church, I have to scan the book section in the Sunday newspaper and read a few articles in the Parade Magazine insert. I have to read my book club's selection, so that I can socialize with "the girls" and talk about the book. I have to read on a rare Sunday afternoon when I can curl up in bed in the middle of the day. I have to read while sitting on my screened-in porch on a warm summer day. I have to read to my kids. And so on, and so on...

Currently, my book club is reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I am only on page 38, but the story has my attention.

The book we just finished reading is Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan. It is a memoir about a time in her life when she transitioned from being a Washington lawyer to a Tennessee mountains receptionist in her father's medical practice. She spoke of many real people and situations common to the country doctor, a position that is almost extinct. The book was heartwarming and funny. We had the pleasure of speaking with the author via speakerphone and she was a spark to our discussion.

I also just finished reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. It was a hard read for me, but I gather that it has touched many people's lives.

Other books that I am currently reading are:
- On Writing by Stephen King
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Matthew (in the Bible)
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (aloud to my kids)

What are YOU reading?