J = Just Reading

"What are you doing?"

"Just reading."

I suppose this post is sort of a tie-in with B and F and my upcoming K entry. Books are wonderful, and we all have Favorites, and K would be telling so let's hold off on that one.

I'm just reading... Done on the weekends with my morning coffee while I sit in my rocking chair, or done outside in the shade in an adirondak, or done sprawled out on a towel at the beach. And let's not forget those blog posts when I'm sitting in front of a computer. I'm just reading.

This whole blog is basically about my reading habits, and while I read some genres more than others, I read a little from almost every one. I'm a thrill seeker; excluding my aversion to carnival rides, skydiving, reckless driving, or anything else that could get me injured or killed... Okay, maybe 'thrill seeker' is the wrong term but I'm constantly looking for the next book to thrill me, enchant me, fill me with passion, sweep me off my feet, suck me in, take me away - you get the picture.

I read for the adventure of it. A book, as previously stated in B = Book, can take you on the adventure of a lifetime. So it stands to reason, reading many books makes you quite the dedicated explorer (without having to sign some sort of liability release form).

I read for educational purposes. I'm constantly learning new words, concepts, places, persons, and things. Every book makes me a little more knowledgeable even if book smarts may not be the same as street smarts and I'm not sure which one is better to have. God knows I don't have street smarts.

I read for the fun of it. After a 40+ work week, paying those bills, doing those chores, running those errands, and all-around adulting, you need something fun. Television, videogames, adult coloring books, knitting, gardening...Reading. For me there's nothing like hunkering down with a good book.

I've taken some flak for my reading habits over the years. Some people think reading is pretentious. Others call it lazy. Based on this information, I can deduce that I've somehow earned myself the title of lazy snob. I'm not sure why there's a stigma against reading, why it would warrant a character assassination, but as Kurt Vonnegut would say, "So it goes."

And because an extremely long post about my reading habits is actually starting to feel pretentious, I want to ask you:

What do you like to read and where do you like to read it? Why do you like to read? Do you have any reading habits or rituals you like to do?

Tell me about you.