I am truly savouring the sheer joy of being able to lounge around and catch up on all the terrific reads that were kindly given to me as Christmas gifts.
It certainly takes me some effort not to feel guilty when doing nought but read.
Why is reading often seen as 'doing nothing' as opposed to doing 'something', whatever that may be?
Is it me, or do my fellow bloggers share similar feelings? I'm sure it has nothing to do with the way I was raised, my parents were both avid readers. Does it have its origins in modern society? I dont know, but I would like to hear any views that you may have.
Anyway, I am currently reading the above book by Michael Greenberg and enjoying every page of the book....
The Washington Post describes Greenberg as, 'a poet of New York, evoking in these fleeting pieces the city in all its scuffed and squalid grandeur'.
As the song says...I'm busy doing nothing...
Have a grand week nice people.
Your new banner is beautiful. Gorgeous. I have often been made to feel guilty sitting on the couch reading a book while the house around me is a wreck owing to annoyed looks from the husband don't help. Reading is most definitely something, and at the top of the list of pleasures in life. If given a choice, the book wins every time.
ReplyDeleteI would not be who I am without all the books I have read and without parents who instilled in me the love of reading.
ReplyDeleteI have read mostly non-fiction lately, but have recently found time again for fiction too. Right now I am reading William Trevor's new novel, "Love and Summer" and loving it!
I have a whole stack here at my elbow begging to be read. I've been restless lately and just read bits here and there.
ReplyDeleteI found early on in my family that reading excused me from bunches of things. When Mom or Dad were cruising for someone to take out the trash you were quickly overlooked if you had a book in your hand.
ReplyDeleteI never consider reading doing nothing but on those rare days when I am moved to devote the vast majority of the day to a really good book I can feel just a wee bit guilty because living alone there is nobody else to take out the trash.
Enjoy your books and give us your reviews.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI have never felt guilty when reading; I can do it all too easily! It's my time and it's a luxury.
I share your feelings exactly Michael - maybe because if I read during the daytime as a child my mother would ask whether I could find something to do which was more useful! Reading in her eyes was for bedtime or wet days. I still feel guilty if I read during the day. Have you read Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall - that was once Christmas present which I thoroughly enjoyed. Am now wading through a clutch of poetry books I had in my stocking - Basil Bunting, Seamus Heaney etc. It certainly makes this snowy weather slightly more agreeable.
ReplyDeleteOh i do love to delve into a parallel universe that isnt as mundane as mine. I like to stock up on holiday books, to read flopped on a Greek sunbed. I read 6 books in two weeks last year.
ReplyDeleteThe hotel ran a book exchange i even read a book about skinheads, left behind by some hoodilam from your neck of the woods, no doubt:) It was surprisingly ok, if i ever need to join a skinhead clan i know the rules!
I came across the website Bookcrossing recently, its an interesting venture where you release your old books into the wild with the idea of tracking their journey over the world, i expect most travel no further than the local Oxfam, never the less, i like the idea of being the George Adamson of books.
My most recent purchase is One Day by David Nicholls, One Day covers one day in the lives of Emma and Dexter - the same day each year for twenty years.
Some years they are together and others they are apart,it covers the development of their lives and their relationship.
I relish the thought of reading it in Greece again this year as guilt free as a strawberry mivvy on a hot summers day... Bliss.
I think I was born with a book in my hand! Both my parents were avid readers and I discovered the joy of books at a very young age. Like my father, I can get completely lost in a bookshop.
ReplyDeleteI do not feel guilty when I'm reading. I feel guilty that I have several books on my bedside waiting to be read!
บริการ สล็อต slot ด้วยระบบเกมใหม่ปัจจุบันของพวกเรา ได้ปรับปรุงแก้ไขให้มีความเสถียรภาพมากยิ่งขึ้น PG SLOT เล่นสล็อตผ่านมือถือ ก็ไม่มีหลุด เล่นได้ทุกระบบปฏิบัติการ จะเล่นโทรศัพท์มือถือเครื่องไหน คอมจำพวกใด
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