Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading

That's the title of a book I've been reading, by Maureen Corrigan (book reviewer for NPR's Fresh Air, and professional book reader). No, it's not something I've ever said, at least not to my family, who are my main sources of interruption no matter what I'm doing. But you could put that sign over my head on any given day, and it pretty much covers it.

I read everywhere, and pretty much everything. It's just recently that I've begun NOT reading some of my numerous emails, or even unsubscribing from some really interesting newsletters, simply because there is not enough time in the day to cover it all. And I don't want to waste another minute on the same old complaining that finds its way into just about every aspect of media. I find the cereal box on my breakfast table far more uplifting.

I rarely watch TV (at least not without a book in my lap, which inevitably winds up being far more engrossing), can't even begin to "keep up" with any series that requires that sort of involvement. I will, however, read ABOUT TV series, and video games that I will probably never play, and celebrity gossip, even though I barely know who any of today's celebrities are anymore, and music, so I can keep up with the latest and greatest. Entertainment Weekly pretty much covers it for me. And still, I spend more time in their book section, reading every single word, even though it's much shorter. Gotta have more books to read.

So this week, in addition to Maureen Corrigan, I read some Edgar Allen Poe, some of The Householder's Guide to the Universe (a current favorite), some art books, a lot about Ancient Egypt, a little about how to build a trebuchet, Rhyming Dust Bunnies, several baseball stories, a whole bunch of magazines, several cookbooks (but no turkey recipes), The Man Who Wore All His Clothes, Maggie Stiefvater's Ballad, The Art of Non-Conformity (by Chris Guillebeau ), the Teacher's editions for both math texts my boys are using, david levithan's Are We There Yet? and at least three other books that I already returned to the library and now their names have escaped me, but their contents will stay with me always, lumped in with all the tea bag philosophy, chinese fortunes, umpteen sales flyers and catalogs and maybe a couple hundred emails. Oh, and let's not forget every single small print label on all the groceries I bought today ... several bags worth. I'm sure I've left something out.

Reading keeps me sane, and it gives me something to write about.