Read and Play

I spend most of the day working in books. This past year, I discovered a paradox: light reading is a great way for me to end the day well. Hard books inspire me. Easy books relax me. At bedtime, I read easy books that transport me to another place. I read accounts that let me experience other lives. I read stories that make me laugh. I read great literature that fires my imagination and my sense of play.  This is an easy portal to renewal. Even if I only get through a couple of pages before drifting into unconsciousness, playful reading makes a remarkable difference in my sleep quality and attitude the next morning. When I'm working hard, it's easy for me to forget that I need to play. But after five years of grad school, I've learned that I need to be as intentional about rest and play as I am about work.

I've also discovered that my local library offers a steady stream of playful books. On my days off, I like to stop there for my "book shopping." I just finished The True Tails of Baker and Taylor (Jan Louch with Lisa Rogak) which relates the lives of two library cats who became world famous. True Tails reminded me of small towns we have known and their libraries and two of our former cats. Jan tells a touching story of how a new job, which quickly included these two cats, made her feel fully alive again after devastating losses. Now I'm starting a new volume, Travelling to Work, which contains Michael Palin's diaries from 1988-1998, written when he was filming his travel shows. While I was reading his words, I forgot I was lying in my bed in an apartment in Columbia. Instead, I was in Cairo. Then I was aboard the Saudi Moon on the Red Sea. And in a few days, I came to Bombay. His diaries inspire me to dream of publishing my own.

Do you read books for leisure? I'd love to hear about it. In our digital age, we don't talk about our books unless someone asks. Otherwise, we think our reading won't be interesting to other people. This blog is a place where your books are welcome. What books have you enjoyed lately?