Monday, July 11, 2011

Reading

I love to read.  When I was little and sent to my room to clean it, I'd read instead.  As a wife and mother when my children napped, instead of doing all the things I should have been doing, I read. When they got older and went to school, I went to work, and it because harder to carve out time to read, so I read on my lunch hour and while taking a bath a night.  There never seemed to be enough time to read.  I've often lost needed sleep to stay up and finish a book. 

Recently I went to a seminar where the speaker said that a large number of people who graduate from high school and college never read another book.  All I could think was how sad.  Although I've had the opportunity to travel a great deal, I visited many of those places first in books.  I've met people and had experiences through books not possible in any other way. Even though I read mainly fiction simply for the fun of it, my life is richer and my outlook broader.

Now that I have more time on my hands, I'm still reading every chance I get.  My tastes are varied and it would probably be easier to list what I don't like.  I didn't used to like romance novels.  I thought they were plot less.  Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl get together, the end.  In one of the first ones I tried the man and woman met and fell in love after only fifteen minutes.  I closed the book at that point, unable to stretch my imagination that far.  However, since then I've discovered Nora Roberts and am an avid fan.  I don't enjoy poetry unless I'm the one writing it.  Although I've read a variety of self-help books, I haven't found them much help.  I avoid anything depressing or that describes hurting children or that includes graphic sex or violence of any kind. I want happy endings.  When I close a book, I want to feel great.  I don't want to have nightmares, so I generally don't read horror stories, sorry Stephen King.

Lately I've discovered young adult novels, all of the excitement without the sex or gore.  If any of you have authors you love, I'd welcome your suggestions.

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