The Joy of Reading
If I’m not coding a web site, I’m reading a book. Reading puts me in a tranquil state of mind and for those few moments my imagination takes over, taking me somewhere I’ve never been and putting me in the shoes of a complete stranger. Ever since I was 4 years old I’ve never been reluctant to pick up a book that maybe I didn’t fully understand.
With book in hand, I could just scan the pages for words I recognized and maybe piece together the story. Also, ever since I enrolled in Children’s Literature in college it has sparked in me a new interest in reading children’s books, which at times feel more energetic than a run of the mill adult novel.
Nowadays, I’ve been known to read around 4 or 5 books at a time. For some people this might seem like overkill, but for me, I can easily divide my attention to each story and every one of these books vary in genre. That said, I’m currently reading:
- The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (author of the bestselling Artemis Fowl series)
- Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
- Braindroppings by George Carlin and
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
What are you reading?
10 Comments, Comment or Ping
Greg
I’m in the middle of three books right now, and all of them are non-fiction.
First is Learning the bash Shell, because I’m going to be spending a lot more time with linux in the coming months and know virtually nothing about shell scripting. Then, there’s Version Control with Subversion, which I want to learn so that I can use it for my upcoming senior design project.
Finally, for a Chinese Religions class I’m taking, I’m having to read The Analects. If it weren’t for the class, I wouldn’t bother reading it, but I find certain parts interesting nonetheless.
Aug 14th, 2004
Dad
What about ‘Five people you meet in Heaven’???? that was a great book too.
Read on, I’m very proud of you….
Dad
Aug 15th, 2004
Chad
I’ve been trying to read Annals of the former world by John McPhee for quite a while now, it’s pretty long. He traveled across the country, mostly along the I-80 corridor, with different geologists and they lay out the geologic history of the North American craton for him. It’s good storytelling. But then again, I’m a geologist. I know some people would find it extremely boring.
Aug 16th, 2004
kartooner
Chad: Is it as boring as quantum physics? I think anything can be interesting if you make it interesting. In high school I wasn’t particularly fond of reading The Scarlet Letter, but I got through it. The key to what seems like rathe bland material is to interject your imagination.
Once you get passed the prose and dig your fingers into the storyline and characters, any story (be it geological or standard drama) can be fun to read.
Aug 16th, 2004
Chad
No, nothing can be as bad as physics, that always put me to sleep. And find me someone who, in high school, did enjoy reading the Scarlet Letter. :-)
While we’re at it, I think one of the best books I have ever read is “Where the red fern grows”…anybody else read that one??
Aug 16th, 2004
Todd
I have a 45 minute train ride to and from work so I get a lot of reading (and I love it!). I just started Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I like it so far.
I just finished Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s The Cabinet of Curiosities. They write very good thrillers.
I remember reading Where the Red Fern Grows in elementary school but I couldn’t tell you anything about it right now.
Aug 16th, 2004
Greg
Where the Red Fern Grows was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I read it again a few years ago, and it was still wonderful. I also really liked A Separate Peace, although I’ve heard a few people grumble about it.
I read Wonder Boys by Chabon, and thought it was fantastic.
I’ve been reading the 9/11 Report. I’m a junkie, but you don’t need to be. They put considerable effort into making it readable and to the point.
Aug 16th, 2004
kartooner
To tell you the truth, I don’t think I ever read Where the Red Fern Grows. I’ve also never read The Yearling or Black Stallion, but then again I never was interested in a book about horses. I take that back, Seabiscuit was an excellent book and movie.
Aug 16th, 2004
Mike
You have made me think of how long it has been since I’ve read a fiction book, at least two years. I decided to pick up a couple to have on hand.
I just ordered Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow, Eastern Standard Tribe also by Cory Doctorow, and Vector Prime (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 1).
I love sci-fi and read the Star Wars book often, so I decided to catch up on The New Jedi Order series. I also remember seeing Cory Doctorow on TechTV’s The Screensavers, back when the channel was actually watchable, his books look cool, and I look forward to reading them one at a time.
Aug 17th, 2004
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