Citizen Reading: First in a series.

It should come as no surprise to you that I really, really enjoy reading. 

I enjoy reading so much that it has rather ruined me for any other activities.  The only event that has a real chance of turning my head from a book is mealtime.  I think about reading and the act of reading so frequently that it's like an actual real friend of mine, and sometimes you like to try and figure your friends out, don'tcha?

With that in mind, welcome to some thoughts about the act itself, called Citizen Reading.  And yes, more than anything else, these segments will count as filler, because I don't have a book review ready.  You found me out!

Last night I finished a fabulous book, titled Made in Detroit: A Memoir, by Paul Clemens (incidentally, where has this book been all my life?).  When I was done, I set it down in my lap as is my habit, and thought about it a little bit.  Primarily I do this just to hold the books I love a little bit longer.  I also do it because I always experience Great Book Withdrawal when I'm done reading a really good book. 

Does anyone else experience this?  It was awkward last night because I finished at about 9 p.m., meaning I probably had time to start reading something else.  But I wasn't in the mood for anything else because I was still thinking about Made in Detroit.  And yes, that was time I should have used to wash the dishes.  But you can't go from reading great literature to washing the dishes.  So I looked through the other reading material we had around, listlessly, but then decided I just didn't feel like starting anything else. 

Wanted: one hobby that I could pursue in the half-hour periods of Great Book Withdrawal that occur roughly once every two weeks.  Do not suggest knitting.  I do not like yarn.

Comments

[Melanie]

Last night I finished Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan, and I had to sit with it in my hands and just think about what I had read. I really can't recommend a hobby to you - they take too much time away from reading.

[lesbrarian]

Yes. This is what I do when I in a non-reading mood:

http://www.killersudokuonline.com/

Not that I expect to be in a non-reading mood for, oh, about three years. But if it ever does happen again that's what I'll be doing.

Started reading three books this week. (Am totally giddy about this.) A thriller by Thomas C. Cook, and for the life of me I can't see what the fuss is about; the first in an epic fantasy series by R. Scott Bakker, slow thus far but ALL big-fat-fantasies are slow to start with; and Bonk, by one of the few nonfiction authors I follow by name, Mary Roach.

[CitizenReader]

Melanie,
Yay, someone else who feels up their books! I've been meaning to get the O'Nan book; I love the cover. Thanks for helping me hold firm on the "only one hobby" habit!

Lesbrarian!
They're letting you read fiction again? Great! Let me know how Bonk is--I'm really far down a long waiting list for that one.

Also: I wish I were smart enough for sudoku, but I'm not. I visit http://www.overheardintheoffice.com/ instead. But thanks for the suggestion anyway--Mr. CR will be very interested.

[Tripp]

You can always write more blog posts about not reading. My problem is my mindless websurfing that takes away from time I should be reading.

[CitizenReader]

Tripp,
I hear you. Sometimes I fall into the time sinkhole that is YouTube. Free access to thousands of BBC videos! Gasp! I'll never be productive again!

[Venta]

I read & review lots of children's books, and often it's one after another, but if I read a great book, children or adult, I, too, just hold the book and remember the story. I'm haunted by it in a good way. I might not be able to pick up another book for hours. I have no hobbies either, so I end up playing with the dogs. Walking is a great way to think about what you've read unless you're busy yelling at your obedience school drop-out dogs to stop pulling on their leashes.

[Katharine]

Take a walk? more time to reflect and exercise is always good.
Have a truly cantakerous weekend.

[laura]

I have no other hobbies to suggest, but I can sympathize. I remember walking around our apartment weeping when I was in eighth grade because I had just finished The Once and Future King, and I didn't think I was ever going to find anything to read ever again. I'm not quite that dramatic about it now, but I sometimes still get that feeling when I finish a book I love.

[Roberta]

Pursue daydreaming. Lie on the couch and observe the walls while thinking about shoes, or a new couch, or vacation ideas, or why Chris Noth still looks so good (what's up with that?). If you fall asleep, wake up and start again from scratch.

[Jon]

You could write a poem.

[CitizenReader]

Venta,
Mm, haunted by books. I like the sound of that. I do a lot of walking, but nothing really beats sitting quietly and refusing to relinquish a book, even for a couple more minutes.

Katharine,
No worries. Most of my weekends are cantankerous, so done and done!

[CitizenReader]

Laura,
I love the image of you walking around crying over "The Once and Future King." I know JUST how you feel.

Roberta,
Mmm, daydreaming. Mmmm, Chris Noth. Mmmm, daydreaming about Chris Noth. You're right--that kind of hobby could occupy some time! (I don't know what he sold his soul to the devil for to keep looking so good, but it seems like he did well on the deal. Men are so lucky when it comes to aging--unless, of course, they're Keith Richards.)

Jon,
Actually, I couldn't write a poem. I have tried and they are laughably bad, worse even than my prose. Perhaps I will start reading more poetry instead!

[Bookie]

Sex?

[CitizenReader]

Bookie,
What, no drugs or rock n' roll?