Reading

I have been an avid reader since elementary school. In fact, I think the word ”avid” does my passion an injustice: I love reading. It’s my escape. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Engels was my first book. I remember rushing through my assignments in Mrs. Ketry’s fourth-grade class just so I could have enough time to read a page or two between lessons. Several times I even got in trouble for reading in class, say, when I was supposed to be doing long division. But I really don’t think Mrs. Ketry minded so much – it wasn’t like I was passing notes or shooting spitballs (although there was that too).

I read a lot here. I was never too into TV or movies, although bootleg copies of almost anything you can imagine are available over on Razorback. So my relaxation is reading. My escape. By reading, I can at once expand my horizons, and curl up inside of myself. Every evening after I get to the hooch I peruse the Stars and Stripes and then settle down with a good book. Oh, I may sweep the floor, or write a bit on the computer or even stretch and do some push ups, but reading is my constant. Right now I am reading Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers K., Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, and a new novel, The Good German (cannot recall the author, but he also wrote Los Alamos).

What I read pretty much depends upon my mood, but I do tend to avoid books about Iraq and the Middle East. I started Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, but just couldn’t get into it. That’s almost funny, since this region was my area of concentration for my masters degree (International Relations) - I suppose being here tends to dull the interest a bit. My current favorites all seem to take me away from here.

I wish I was away from here.