What I read when I read (which ain't as often as it oughta be)

 

First of all, I’m using the word “literature” very facetiously here. For someone trying to be a writer, I’m really not THAT big of a reader, and what I read isn’t much what you’d call literary high-brow.. Embarrassing but true. And there are some actual physical reasons for my volume of reading being low. Seriously. With my M.D., several factors of my physiology conspire to keep me from enjoying reading a good book. First, try to imagine this. Sit straight up. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Okay. Now, imagine that there are two metals rods on either side of your spine, both fused to your spine (as is the case with mine). Can’t really lean over very well, can you? Okay, now...center your chin so you’re looking straight ahead, not up or down. Hold that position. Now, imagine that both muscles contractures and your bionic spine keep you from being able to tilt your head any further forward than that. That center position is as far down as your chin goes. Can’t really look down, can you? Finally, imagine that you have very little strength in your arms – mostly lacking in your shoulders. Imagine they’re so weak that you can’t even raise your arms above your ribs. If you want to reach a hand up to your face, you have to use your other hand, grab your wrist, and sort of use both arms to raise the one up.

So, what does this have to do with reading? Try to imagine reading a paperback when you can’t look down and you can’t raise the damned book up, unless you do it with one hand with your other arm being used to hold that arm up. Kind of makes reading a pain in the ass, doesn’t it?

I make due, but it’s just not that pleasant. This means I’m always in some kind of awkward and uncomfortable position when I’m doing it. The best way is lying down, but even that’s tough to do with my arms being the way they are. Turning pages is a pain. So you put that together with a serious lack of time to read, and that spells not-a-whole-lotta-readin’. Pretty good justification for watching a lot of TV, isn’t it? :D

Hardcovers work better, because I can use one of those folding book holder things you’ve probably seen for sale at Borders or back in the college bookstore. This same principle applies to reading stuff on my computer. Some people hate reading lots of stuff on the screen. I LOVE it! PDF files are the coolest! And there’s always the book-on-CD option, which I use from time to time, but only with non-fiction. It’s great to have a couple of non-fiction books on the iPod. But that can be annoying if the reader stinks, which I’ve seen happen.

Anyway, with all that said, I do do some reading. I’ve never been a huge reader, but have had a few favorites on the novel arena. I discovered Stephen King back in college and have ready many of his works. He used to be one of my favorite writers, but he’s really started to lose it later in his career (if you’d written as much as he has and expectations were so high for you to KEEP cranking stuff out, you probably would, too). I read a lot of Robert Ludlum in high school as well, after my Dad turned me on to his spy tales. One of my favorite modern authors is Tad Williams. I discovered his Otherland series with a random purchase in a book store one day, and fell in love with his writing style. While I’m not a big novel reader, I am a BIG novel reader. If I’m going invest my time in reading something, I want my money’s worth, and I like a BIG story (I’ve read the Stand uncut edition twice). If it’s less than four or five hundred pages, I’m just not as happy. That’s an odd contradiction, I know. If you can figure it out, let me know.

Most of my reading these days centers on non-fiction, and a lot of self-help and motivational things. I’m trying to get my life more organized and more productive, and any good book that’ll teach me something along those lines is worth the effort for me. Plus, books on writing are inspirational and informative, and really get me motivated to keep hitting the keyboard. Take a look at my Shelfari shelf above to give you an idea of what’s on my shelves at home.

I really hope electronic books catch on, and continue to hit the web. Tad Williams did a great project for a while when he started an online, episodic novel called Shadowmarch. He did the first four chapters for free, and then there was a subscription involved to get subsequent chapters and access more of the content. The site was a great idea – you had the book itself, but to supplement it, there was a guide to the world (maps included), an art gallery where different artists would read the latest chapter and then do their interpretations of characters or events, and there was a message board for readers to immediately start chatting about the latest chapter. Sadly, he changed his mind soon after and turned it into a regular novel, but it was a great experiment. I wish more writers would try it…and I wish this for selfish reasons. The easiest reading for me is sitting on my patio at night, lighting up a cigar, and reading from my laptop. I, for one, hope this is where the future of publishing is headed, but I just can’t see the public as a whole (yet) giving up the tactile experience of curling up in a chair with that good old-fashioned paperback. Maybe there’s room for both. We’ll see.