Here's what I especially like: reading a book is an escape from life. It's that most ancient of pleasures. It's a story whispered in your ear. And you can hear that story's magical whisperings whether you are riding home on the subway or reclining on the beach in these last few days of summer. Or, in my case, helping my 92-year-old mom recover from a hip operation. She falls asleep, and I silently thank all the authors I know for putting a book in my hand to keep me hopeful until she wakes up and I can smile at her and try to inspire her to keep on keeping on.
It's funny when you think about it. We keep getting told we sit too much, but reading a book is not an activity usually done while marching along on the treadmill--although again, I'll admit to being so much into a good novel that I have done just that. We keep getting told to be productive, to multi-task and organize our lives so we can get it all done, to use Life Hacks so we can slice cherry tomatoes between two plates (spoiler alert: it doesn't work)...
Reading a book is the ultimate mono-tasking. It's a private silent movie. After a while you don't even feel yourself turning the pages, or touching the screen on your Kindle. Maybe it's like meditating. That's supposed to be good for you, too.
And for a time travel author like me? There's even another layer of magic. My main character, Bean, slips around in time. And my readers slip around in time with her--but it sounds like they get given MORE time by doing so! Wouldn't it be cool if the amount longer you live because of your reading habit were the exact amount of time you spent reading?
"What about writing books?" I wrote to my friend the doc. "Does that make you live longer, too?"
"That'll kill you," he Facebooked back at me.
Le sigh.
I have a day off from caring for Mom today, so I'm cranking the book promo, and getting ready to do a radio show on Area 24 radio at 4 PM today (tune into the stream anytime--all the DJ's on our little internet place are great). And I'm wanting to get back into drafting Bean 3, which I started while I was in Canada this summer. Damn it--that sounds dangerously like multi-tasking! I think I need to read another book! Maybe I'll get to the second Night Angels book by KH Mezek. She's a fellow Evernight Teen-er, and she's really good.
I'll leave you with the view down the creek. Imagine lots and lots of late summer insects buzzing, just a little water moving (it's been dry here), and a few blue jays bragging about how they drained the feeders again.