Wednesday, May 5, 2010

A Day Without Reading Is Like...

...a day without showering.  Or so I commented on Sarah Hilary's blog post the other day.  She wondered whether people continue to read other authors' work while in the middle of their own writing or do they hold off for fear of losing their own voice.   In the comments section, someone mentioned how not reading made them grumpy.  Boy, do I hear that!

It got me thinking though about how, although I do read every day, my reading habits have changed.  When I was a kid, I used to read during the TV commercials.  I used to hold my book under my desktop at school and try to read, but I was a chicken and too afraid of getting caught so I didn't do that too often.  I used to spend hours, sometimes even a whole day, reading.  (I did this with a Stephen King book one summer day - I wish I could remember which book it was!) 

Now, I record most TV shows so I slide by the commercials.  No teacher is going to scold me - the only person who makes me feel guilty if I take time to read instead of work is me.   Take hours, never mind a whole day, to read a book?  While there's errands to run, cleaning to do, emails to write, blogs to read?

YES!

TV can wait.  So can the dust and the food shopping.  And the guilt is easier to work through than you'd think, especially when you've got an amazing book, a hot cup of coffee, and a comfy couch.  Hey, no one wants to see me cranky, right?  Just ask my husband.

2 comments:

  1. No more need to hide the books under the desk! Great post, Madeline.

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  2. Thanks, Sarah. And thanks for the post that triggered this one.

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