What Do You Like To Read?

One of the hazards of full time writing is the lack of time for reading!

In the old days it was nothing for me to read several books per week. By the time I was old enough to ride my bike to the library, I remember coming home every week with stacks of books tucked into the basket on my bike. Nothing was more satisfying than lying on my bed or out in the sun on the chaise lounge devouring story after story.

Dumpy Grace in real life - almost 50 years ago!

When I was a child I read anything and everything about animals. Two of my favourites were Vulpes, the Red Fox - the story of a red fox and Vixen, his mate which has probably the saddest ending in the history of children's literature, notwithstanding Old Yeller. Despite the thousands of books I've given away over the years, Vulpes still graces my grown up bookshelf. The other was Big Red, about an Irish Setter that lived on a farm. Another tear jerker for the ages.

When I was a preteen I loved Nancy Drew. The image of her speeding around town in her roadster, her titian hair blowing in the wind, her friend George by her side...ah...heaven.

In addition to library books, I would pour over everything my parents had in their library including a scientific Time/Life series with titles like: Mammals, Fish, The Earth, The Stars, etc. Fabulous! My mother also kept some 'steamy' books that I read, although didn't quite understand at the time. The Tropic of Cancer and The Valley of the Dolls spring to mind. Later I went searching for more, including Lady Chatterly's Lover and Fanny Hill, and anything by Anais Nin. Tsk! Tsk!  

In my mid-teens I went through a Russian period. I read Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The Cancer Ward, and Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, which for some reason, touched me deeply. After that I read every Russian author I could get my hands on including Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and  Pushkin.

In my late teens I admit to a fling with Ayn Rand. I read every book of hers, not really understanding her objectivism philosopy but clinging to the notion that as individuals we are responsible for our own happiness and success. It was a life lesson that has stuck with me.

I was a science major in university and never had a formal literature education. Wanting to educate myself I would visit the library or the Bookshelf Cafe in Guelph and would work through the Penguin Books. Remember the distinctive orange covers? At the time, I believed that anything published by Penguin was high art and therefore, necessary reading. I wasn't wrong.

Along the same vein my father purchased a set of Classic books from the Franklin library series and it was here that I was introduced to the ancients such as Homer, Ulysses, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, as well as amazing American writers such as John Steinbeck, William Styron and William Faulkner, among many others.

I fell in love with the short story genre, as well. Among my favourites, Margaret Laurence, Alice Monroe, science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke. One of my all time favourites was Bronwen Wallace, who, sadly, died at a young age and never got the chance to write a second book.

And always - the popular fiction/science fiction and mystery/thriller/suspense series dominated. From John Le Carre and Len Deighton to Lawrence Block and James lee Burke. PD James and Thomas Perry, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, Umberto Eco, Sue Grafton, Graham Greene and Peter Hoag, to name just a very few.

The latest non-fiction I read was The Swerve - a brilliant exposition of how a 1400's era monk, by the name of Poggio Bracciolini discovered a copy of Lucretius's long lost, On the Nature of Things, and how this epic poem changed the world.  I can't wait to read more by Stephen Greenblat.

Currently, I am enjoying the Giles Blunt series, set in North Bay, Ontario. I love the nuanced protagonist, John Cardinal. The latest James Lee Burke is always a must read, mostly for his wonderful characters (Dave Robichaux and Clete Purcell) and his heart breaking descriptions. And I wait with bated breath for the latest in the Keller series by Laurence Block. Best psychopath ever.

But, I digress. The point I was trying to make is that I miss reading for pleasure. After a long day hunched over the computer, the first thing I want to do is get up and move. The thought of sitting down, or lying in bed, or out in the sun on my chaise lounge for that matter, just doesn't appeal. I want to read, but don't want to SIT!

I need to find a solution. I like audio books but the closest library that stocks audio books is an hour away. I do have a treadmill but I can't read while walking unlike my friend Kathy, who reads while jogging! How the heck does she do that without going blind?

Anyway - this week I am setting aside all writing obligations and giving myself permission to simply read. I scored a couple of free books while visiting Simon and Schuster. I've already been through The Demonologist, a good read by Andrew Pyper, and am now ensconced in The Firebird, by Susanna Kearsley, which I'm loving! It seems to have been inspired by the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series, and I am not ashamed to say that I am an avid Jamie and Claire fan.

Ahhhh....heaven!