What Are You Reading?
They say what a person reads says a lot about them. I've certainly learned a great deal since becoming an author about reading preferences and how unique they truly are. I'll be at an author event right next to the person selling what seems like the weirdest, most uber niche-based book there, and yet I'll watch people walk past my booth and buy the weird, uber niche-based book. It takes all kinds of readers. And all kinds of books.
I don't read as much as I used to, at least not since I started writing. A bit sad to admit this, but I've become that person who really only reads for a few minutes before bed. I always really look forward to it, but the bottom line is that by that point in the evening, I'm tired. Like, really tired. And not just because I will have already taken some sort of sleep aid. So after only a few pages, I can no longer stay awake. I'm not proud of this, meaning I actually like myself better when I read more.
The above picture represents a recent rare weekend at a charming B&B up in the mountains where there really wasn't anything to do besides read or play checkers in the parlor. (There wasn't even a TV in the room! Which tells you how often I find myself at a B&B in the mountains.) That was sort of my plan though. To rest and read, also write. But mostly read.
I've gone from preferring fiction in my youth to preferring non-fiction as an adult, but I did have a rare novel on my Kindle for this particular weekend. I haven't finished it, still, which goes to show you just how much I prefer non-fiction (the physical book in the picture is non-fiction and I finished in no time). And yes, whatever it may say about me, I read the People magazine. It has for longer than I can remember been the only magazine I pay to subscribe to. A girl's gotta stay informed on trends, after all. Even if she's about 2 months behind in reading them and always shares celebrity gossip with friends only to have them respond that it's old news.
Whatever reading material you keep on your nightstand or bring with you to mountain B&B retreats, I hope it enriches your life (I'm looking at you, People), offers you solace and inspiration, and that you never stop turning to the written word for the escape/nourishment/laugh/knowledge you need. And if you see me at an author event, please, for the love of all that is good, stop and buy a book!