I love your brain

I love to read. I try to read every night even if it’s just a page or two, though more often than not I get lost in whatever book I’m reading and waking up in the middle of the night, having rolled over onto my tablet or book. I favor mysteries, especially international crime thrillers, but I like to mix it up with novels and short stories, and the occasional bit of non-fiction.

As I’ve written previously, my dad kept journals of his readings. I have one of his handwritten little notebooks detailing the readings of 1968. It’s something I treasure. I often think about doing the same thing but then I move on to the next book without recording anything about the last. Perhaps this year I’ll attempt to document my reading. It would be fun to look back at the list several years later and be reminded of where I got lost in 2015.

I’m currently reading The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. It’s set in 1922 in England, post WWI. A formerly privileged widow and her unmarried twenty something daughter, finding themselves without means, have to take in tenants to keep their home. The tenants, a young married couple, change their lives, especially that of Frances, the daughter, in compelling ways. I’m only half way through and am enjoying it. I am, of course, looking for the thriller element, even where it doesn’t exist.

I have a tendency to build upon my readings in my head whilst reading. I imagine where the story might be heading and sometimes I’m right. Sometimes I’m not. I have a tendency to devour series and as I grow more familiar with both the author and the main characters, I can often take the journey one step ahead of the book. It doesn’t spoil it for me. It actually makes me feel more a part of the investigation or story.

I love to read with Cole too. I’m not great at voices but I sometimes try to give accents to characters or different intonations or inflections. He’s forgiving and when we find a book he likes, he’s a great partner and listener. I wish he could find it in himself to get lost in books the way I did when I was young. He’s got limited options for independent time, in the house, or in his room and reading would be my first choice for him. He can listen to books on Audible, or read on his tablet, using his eyes to turn pages, but he’s not embraced the escape of a good book. It’s my dream that he will one day understand the magic of a well told story.