For fellow recovering reading posers, these are books. They are the paper version of e-books.
Let me just begin by saying that I am a total poser.
One of my pretenses is that I’m such a READER. I’ve listed it under hobbies and interests in various profiles, and before my husband and I moved into an apartment just big enough for our bodies, we had a very nice large bookcase filled with books. You’d look at it and say, “Now that’s a library.” (In all fairness, my husband is, in fact, a voracious reader.)
I absolutely have been reading for years. I read in college (I will not tell you when that was). I read a niche selection of nonfiction and self improvement books at an athletic snail’s pace. I also read something called the Internet. And by read, I mean read mostly headlines, and for select articles, the first three paragraphs, then skim the rest.
Lazy, starving, and creatively dull
If you’ve read this far, not only are you probably a reader with an attention span, but you also have realized the irony of a writer confessing to being a lazy and lying reader.
This past year the irony hit me around the time I also realized that I was watching too much TV. Yes, even too much TV for someone who loves TV and wants to write for TV. I didn’t have creative balance, and I know that to be a better writer I need to nourish myself with the almighty book. I was starving and I knew it.
A funny thing happened when I started to read novels, essays, and other literature again. I rediscovered my love for words. I rediscovered my imagination. I remembered more how much I love stories and characters.
In my own story, my character is a lazy perfectionist who often quits before she starts because she wants to do it just so. That’s not any different for reading. I’ve had fits and starts in discovering frequent reading again. I still haven’t discovered a routine that hits the sweet spot for me, but the important thing is that I’ve made it a priority. I have lists. I often look at and update these lists and make note of them.
The library is running a promotion (Free books!)
Did I mention I live next to a library? Uh, yeah. I really have no excuse. I used to buy books. A lot of books (I mentioned the big bookcase). Then I remembered a less expensive option: libraries. I present my favorite bit on libraries (okay, the only one I can reference) by comedian Gary Gulman:
How do you read?
I’m kind of giddy about reading again. I almost afraid it’s a hipster thing to do, going to the library, but I don’t think it’s hip to be giddy. I want to know how you read. Are you an avid reader? What do you think of your local library? Are you a recovering poser like me? How do you keep up on your reading? How do you make progress, especially if you tend to read 43 books at a time?
Lastly, check out my lists (Fav Books and Books to Read) on Pinterest–slowly being updated–and my GoodReads profile. Share your thoughts and lists below!
[Related and coming soon: Posts on words, words, words!]
