Life has its phases of things that interest us I find. It seems that my obsessive, addiction-prone interests seem to circulate between movies, reading, video games, and writing. These four things take over my life one subject at a time till I can't get enough of them only for that one to be replaced by the next one to the same avail. Rinse, lather, repeat. Yet lately I have found one of my most favorite things taking up more and more real estate in the entertainment of my person. And that is reading.
I love to read. It stems back to the good old days of Pizza Hut's Book It program that awarded you with pizza for every book you read. Incentive programs and marketing have always worked on me, and the promise of free food (especially a personal Pan Pepparoni Pizza) just was an offer I couldn't refuse. So I like to pinpoint my love of reading to that particular time in my development. So much did I yearn for the delicious round pie that I taught myself to read while walking so that I would never miss an opportunity to crack open a book and escape into my imagination. This is something I still do to this day and I have yet, knock on wood, to ever fall or have an accident from not paying attention. I actually feel I am more attentive when reading than at any other times. I should just start reading while driving; it might make me a better driver. (Disclaimer: Don't do that. It's stupid. And you will die.)
Reading is something that surrounds us on every level. Its a wonderful pastime to open up a book and delve its words for the mysteries that will unlock the universe. Yet I find myself also feeling the need to read anything whether it has value to the mind or not. Lately I have had to admit to myself (as it is Step 1 in my recovery) that I am a Facebook addict. Countless hours have been spent scrolling through status updates of those I hold dear and those I hold afar just to get some small insight into their lives or just to have something to read. I admit its not literature and most of it brings forth a nightmare of grammatical structure that would have Shakespeare wanting to force the vial out of Romeo's ill-fated hands and down the poison himself, but still its words on a page begging to be read. And what can be so wrong with that. Any reading is good reading because it forces your brain to work and comprehend.
A vision of the future popped into my head today while I was, what else, reading in my spot at the local Barnes and Noble. One of my little daughter trolling the shelves looking for her next literary conquest as a weary, yet handsome father looks on with pride and hope that she doesn't pick out Twilight. In that moment I was really happy and started thinking what the world of my child's will be in the book department. I can't wait to introduce my spawn to the world of books and overpriced coffee cafe's. Its the one thing I think I will not fail at as a father. Yet I also felt a pang of sadness thinking that she might not like to read. I think in my life I could accept that with love, but never with happiness. Sad to think about, but true. Reading, for me, created everything that I can say is categorically "me." And for her to not have that same drive....
Yet that is the future. And this is the now. And yesterday is the past. (Don't know why I put that last bit in, but I was on a chronological roll.)
So as I go forward into the next chapter (see what I did there) of my life I know that I will always love to watch movies, play video games, and write but I hope this drive to consume the written word continues to thrive. I will still buy every gaming console available and fill my media cabinet with the latest disc-based movie distribution because that's who I am. And I may ever transfer over completely to digital e-books as a source of material to feed my fix, but I hope that I never feel the day when I just say "Reading is stupid" or "Hand me that Twilight book."
Happy reading, everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment