I don't have time to read!!

Many people are baffled by the number of books I read. I ALWAYS have a book to read. I read a little bit of every kind of genre out there. People who are not in the habit of reading generally give one excuse. "I DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ!!" If you ask me, that's a load of malarkey. I'm guessing you made time to play a couple games of Bejeweled Blitz online today, or took a few minutes with the Angry Birds on your iPhone, checked out the statuses of your friends on Facebook, or sat in front of the TV watching a program or two. If you didn't do any of those things, I apologize. If you did take some time to do those things, then your excuse can no longer be that you don't have time to read. It should be that you don't take time to read.

I don't chunk out sections of my day to read. I read a bit here and there throughout the day. During breakfast, during lunch, during commercials, while waiting for my 3-year-old to finish playing in the tub, waiting in doctor's offices, and on road trips where I'm not driving: these are all great times for me to have a book on hand. I generally don't leave the house without one. You never know when you're going to pick the slooooowwwwwwest line at the grocery store. It is more important to me than my phone (you're right, I don't have an iPhone).

I have heard of some people who CAN'T read, because then they have to read until they finish the book. That's something I don't quite understand. What do they do when they have 5 minutes here and there through-out the day? I suppose I could sit and idly ponder my thoughts, but WHY?? I could, I just choose not to.

I once read that a true test of how comfortable you are in your own skin is to sit down at a restaurant and eat a meal. Without a book or anything else to occupy yourself. I did that once. And, I wondered what exactly I was proving. Another time I went to a restaurant by myself with a Terry Pratchett book. Now there is a showing of how comfortable I am in my own skin. I was guffawing over my soup, salad, and bread sticks. At one point I was laughing so hard I was crying. Were people giving me strange looks? Probably, but I was too busy drying my eyes to notice.

While we're on the subject of books that are laugh-out-loud funny, I should wish a happy belated birthday (February 11th) to Mo Willems--my favorite laugh-out-loud funny author. (I know; he'll never see this, but he's still my favorite.) His pigeon is a creature to behold. If you don't have time to read, these are kids books and should only take a minute or two--they're pretty short. But; like a kid, you may want to read it again as soon as you finish.

If you in any way disagree with me, or are offended by me--let me know. This is intended as a conversation starter--not a put-down. Feel free to leave a comment!