Stuff I've Been Reading 7

BOOKS READ:

• Seventh Son - Orson Scott Card
• Despite Everything - Aaron Cometbus
• Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose
• Unfinished Business - Jack McCallum
• Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott

The only (new) book I've read in the last six weeks has been the Card, which I just finished yesterday. All the other ones listed above I've either read before or just flipped through enough to feel like I finished it. I don't feel like I haven't been reading but I guess it's been a dry spell. Between writing a new draft, watching the basketball playoffs, and trying to get out of the house, I've had no time to actually sit down and read a book maybe?

That's just a poor excuse though. Readers read, period. But so much of my time is spent in front of the computer I guess I'm skimming articles and blogs more than actually reading. So what separates me from the masses of "non-readers" who only consume short pieces and articles in magazines and online? Not much I guess.

And I quote "non-readers" because people who don't read books are considered capable of reading but not really readers. There's a few simple categories of readers. While I'm here, I'll just make a quick ranking.

Zero (0)
Can't/won't read at all. Like anything more complex than a menu would be taxing. Paragraphs are soooo long.
Favorite book: The funny pages

See Spot Run (1)
Reads a magazine on a flight or a newspaper during breakfast. Books with pictures and articles with bullet points are super awesome. Light internet browsing.
Favorite book: Who Moved My Cheese?

Blue Fish, Red Fish (2)
People who like to read but often only in niche categories. Subject matter is the most important quality when looking for something. Thinks self-help books qualify as reading. Medium internet browsing.
Favorite book: Tuesdays with Morrie

Gladwell's Code (3)
Light and fluffy fiction top sellers with a mix of the occasional hot non-fiction of the season. Knows where the tipping point is, why economics freak people out, and has a sizable collection of buy two get one free selections. "I totally read that in eighth grade!" Possible heavy internet browsing.
Favorite book: Harry Potter

Years of Solitude (4)
Seasoned reader. Scoffs at low brow drivel. Familiarity with the classics and devotes time to serious works. Not confined to genres because a book is a book is a book. Wouldn't be lost looking at a list of the 100 best novels. "I really enjoyed her earlier work but her new stuff sucks."
Favorite book: Something foreign

Rushdie's Rainbow (5)
Consumes literature, can talk about the works of so-and-so, isn't afraid of diving into something experimental. Words and ideas are fuel for life. One of their goals in life is to have a room for a personal library. The library card is always maxed out.
Favorite book: Gravity's Rainbow

Apparently length matters. Readers are people who can curl up with a book and commit to something longer than ten pages. Non-readers basically consume things in little bite sized pieces.

Anyway, since the beginning of summer has been such a bust in the reading department, I think I'm going to make a list of books for summer reading and make sure to finish them all by say, September.

Lilly was talking about a great idea the other day: starting a summer read-a-thon just like when we were kids. Remember those? You raced to read as many books as you could and then when you returned to school you got prizes like medals and trophies and pieces of paper to hang on the fridge. Of course, people have jobs now so an adult read-a-thon might be hard but it's a worthy goal. I'm going to start making my list now.

Oh, I consider myself a 3.5 reader. Somewhere in-between the things you find at the front of the bookstore and the stuff I can't pronounce without mumbling.