Friday, September 25, 2009

Books, Books, Books

I always tell Brian that we can be the couple who reads together. I don't know why, but I have this idea that we could go to a park, and there wouldn't be any bugs, and I could be reading some silly Sophie Kinsella book or some really intense biography about a high-powered woman, and he could be reading some book that periodically he has to read out loud to show just how funny it is.

I don't know why, but it's always been something that I've sort of wanted, for one reason or another. Maybe it's because I really love going to bookstores, but there are never comfy chairs open, so I just end up reading outside and want company. Or maybe it's because I want someone to read sentences aloud to. That's company though, right?

Company is probably the biggest thing, because really, reading is quite a solitary activity. Or, it's all just a throwback to reading outside on the pentacrest in college. Let's go with company as a whole though.

I mean, you've got your book groups and the like, but there's no real discussion, I imagine. Maybe I have a skewed perspective on book groups thanks to my mother. She has been part of one for a few years now and enjoys reading, but somehow always gets distracted and can never finish the book in time for the book group deadline. I get that. But at the same time, it's hard to have a real chat about a book if you've only finished a third of it. Then again, why is there a timetable for reading a book? Ah, ha, libraries also have timetables. Two weeks, or you're out. I pounded down the latest Sophie Kinsella novel, Twenties Girl, in just over a day on Wednesday. I was dodging a late fee and returned it during the off-hours technically after the deadline, but also technically not. Limbo. By the way, in case you hadn't heard from me already, Personal History was great. It's sad that there's no more. If I were Katharine Graham (provided I was still alive), I think it would be really scary to look at a 650-page book and realize that's it. That's your life. I mean, obviously not everything can be covered in a book, but it's sort of intense.

But this is neither here nor there. I suppose I do have a way of talking about the books I'm reading. Thanks for checking up, blog readers. In the meantime, I'll probably be outside. Reading. For now it's JFK's Profiles in Courage.

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