Reading

Well Read

I don’t know if I read more because I fear my reading days are numbered or because my curiosity is higher than it has ever been. But, nevertheless, I read more. Maybe I have more time than I used to, maybe I make more time than I used to, maybe I have always had time to read as much as I wished. Whatever, I read more. Cheryl would attest to that fact because she sees the things I neglect while I am reading; the little things that go undone, the things I intended to do but never did. The truth is, she reads more than she used to; maybe it’s just part of growing older.

 We don’t read the same things but we are both completely tolerant of the other’s choices. She loves to read current  and traditional theories of Bible prophecy regarding the end time and she loves to establish timelines of major events in Bibical history. She delves into her research to a level that I will never attain. She wants to explore the latest ideas regarding major prophecies and how they affect current events. It is all so far over my head that I sit back in amazement as she tells me her latest revelations. She is my authority on the meaning and timing of all the world’s daily occurences. She is fascinated by the implications and wants to enlarge her already expansive knowledge of the subject. I support her and encourage her to learn all she can.

My personal interests are varied but totally disimilar to her goals in reading. I have always been an avid reader of historical novels and history, but I also love to read pure fiction that is not contaminated with sex and vulgar language. So many modern writers think that everyone wants to read all the smut that they can produce, but for me it is a turnoff and results in a rejection of their story. I have acquired a strong following for tales of judges and juries and the law enforcement forces that support them, but my long standing interest has been history; American history and world history because so much of what we think and believe today is based on the actions of our ancestors.  I throughly enjoy a good American western story that depicts the west as it was, and is.

I have favorite authors that I have read for over forty years. I have grown accustomed to their style and even though some have passed on, I anxiously await others new releases. I prefer English authors for their style and wit, but I have a list of American authors whom I have followed zealously. In the past year I have read tales by Frederick Forsyth, Jeffrey Archer and Ken Follett from across the pond and works of American stylists John Gresham, Michael Connally, Robert Parker, Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, Brad Thor, Craig Johnson, Jeff Sharra, Rick Atkinson, Burke Davis and David Baldacci. I’m not sure how much more my brain can consume, but I’m OK with some of the old stuff getting pushed out to make room for new information. I read at least one book a month and sometimes two or three.

I don’t know that I am any smarter because I read so much, but I think I am better informed, because authors keep you aware of how the latest technology is being used and historians remind you of how we got to where we are. Few things are black and white and opinions are as numerous as we are, so we are enriched when we examine the thoughts of others, whether we agree with them or not. Writers often imbed a bedrock principle of their belief in the thoughts of their protagonist or they project the opposite of their beliefs in the thoughts and actions of their villian. Reading is an adventure of discovery, it is full of ideas and opinions and it is a great escape from the massive overdose of electronic media that encompasses us in today’s world. I don’t know where the spiral will stop, but I suspect I will have a hard- bound book by my death bed. I doubt that I will long retain what I have just read, but just in case, wake me up and ask me what I thought about it. If you can, I will probably appreciate it.