Reading: I Like It

I don't get to read much during the school year, mostly because I don't have time, but also because at the end of the day, my eyes hurt from reading law books and staring at a computer screen all day, so the idea of picking up yet another book and reading yet another word is unbearable. I fixed this problem for a while by downloading books onto my IPod. At the end of the day I would crawl into bed, turn off all the lights and listen to a book being read to me until I was ready for sleep. This plan backfired because I would completely lose track of time and I would roll over to put my IPod on my nightstand only to catch a look at the clock and see that it was suddenly 3:37 am.

I read almost exclusively historical fiction. I just love and appreciate stories from hundreds of years ago, preferably about real historical figures. It's weird, but I just feel like I relate to these stories and people so much more than a story told in the present time. One of my favorite authors is Margaret George because she writes these biographical accounts of historical figures and they are so well-researched and so thick and filling, but she tells the stories as novels and fills in any unknown details about their lives with what most likely happened, which is why they're still considered historical fiction. She's written about Henry VIII, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Mary Queen of Scots, and I just finished the one she wrote about Mary Magdalene. All of them very, very good.

I've decided though that I need to branch out and read more genres. Specifically, I've decided to read more classics, which makes sense since most of the classics are historical fiction really, just written by authors actually living during the time. I stayed home from work today because I'm actually feeling quite poopy. I was in bed almost all day drifting in and out of sleep but by 5:00 pm I was wide awake, very much craving a book. So I ventured out to Barnes & Noble and picked up War and Peace and Vanity Fair. I shall read these books. I shall like them. I shall discuss them at dinner parties. And I shall grow as a person because of it. I just have to do all this before school starts at the end of August. Otherwise, War and Peace will just be collecting dust until next summer while taking up much needed room on my bookcase. Holy crap, that's a thick book. I plan to look very, very smart on the train every morning, holding it up unnecessarily high to read so all can see how smart I am. Perhaps I'll wear my glasses and possibly even some colorful argyle socks in case there are any doubts.