Reading has always become a safe escape to me since I was about 8 years old. When I was living with my Grandmother we used kerosene lamps to read by when my Grandmother wasn't around because she was afraid that we would cause a fire so we had to read only in the daylight or sneak a few pages at a time near the light in the hallway. By 10 years old I had read everything in the house and I started reading everything in the school. We had 3 grades in each room so I had 3 years to read everything in the school including the dictionaries and the encyclopedias and all the magazines I could find. When I was 21 I joined the Navy and every place I was stationed at I would collect books and people would borrow books from me because they knew I always had something to read.
When I read a book I become the hero I am the person who is discovering the murderer. I am the one that finds the clues. I am the one after all the pages that puts the bad guy away. This is the only way to read a book. It takes a certain amount of time to do this you have to shut yourself off from everything in the world except the book. I have had people come up to me when I am reading and speak to me and I will jump because I concentrate all my senses on story. If it is raining out in the story in my mind I have gut my raincoat on just like the detective. I have an attitude just like the famous Belgian sleuth and I am the one that is using my brain cells just like it says in the book. If I read a book the second or third time I enjoy the book more than the first time because I make believe I am the good guy and I know right off where the clues are and i figure who the bad guy is before the detective does because I am the one that is solving the case.
To go off in a different world everytime you read a book is escapism at its best it dosen't cost any more than the price of the book. If you have only 20 to 30 minutes at a time this works real well because you look forward to the next time you are alone to finish the book. The saddest part about a book is the end because I feel like I have lost a friend and I have to start another book before I grieve to much. Another sad part is not being able to talk about my books at work because I work with people that never read books which is sad because how are they going to know the humor of Mark Twain, Dave Barry, Andy Rooney the thrill of Hercule Poirot, Max Bolan, Ellery Queen when they (or you) solve the case and put the bad guy away forever or until the next time you read the book. To Not read is to have no imagination. thanks for reading my thoughts.....
