But I miss having free time to read.
A lot.
I get Time delivered every week, and today I was actually really lucky: I had enough time to read the whole thing. But that's so rare for me. I typically scan through it and throw it on the extra desk, figuring I'll find the time later in the week to actually read it. And it never happens.
I also have a ton of books that I'm about halfway through that I just never have time to read. Right now I think I'm in the middle of four (pretty low for me) different books that aren't school-related. One is a fictionalized autobiography of Cleopatra by Margaret George. She writes a lot of these kinds of books (the first one of hers I read was about King Henry VIII, one of my favorite historical figures of all time) and they're all really compelling. The writing isn't the best, but the stories are just so easy to get sucked into that I end up reading it during every free moment I have.
Another book that I'm trying to finish is I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb. Lamb wrote She's Come Undone, another one of my favorite novels, and this one is just as good. I started it over Christmas break and just haven't had a free second to finish it.
The third is Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace. This one is actually on the bottom of my list right now, because I've read it before, but it's been a while. I really enjoy Wallace's writing, and was actually pretty upset when I heard that he had died. I was encouraged to read it again after my Journalism professor mentioned it last semester in class, and so I picked up a copy from the bookstore (instead of borrowing it from the library). I really like owning books, and I always hate the moment when I have to bring them back to the library. That's why I love my local library at home; they have the book sale room where I always find excellent books for wicked cheap. The last time I was there, I found Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol for a dollar!
I also really love bookselling websites, like thriftbooks.com. Their prices are always excellent. At this point, I think I would rather buy books than clothes (Not shoes, though. There are some things I refuse to sacrifice, and shoes are a part of that list).
I hate to admit it, but I really love some of the really awful literature that's out there these days. I think it may come from reading way too many Sweet Valley High books as a kid, but I love a juicy teenage drama. I love the Twilight series (even though I admit it's some of the worst writing I've ever read, the story is SO captivating!). I love He's Just Not That Into You. Heck, I'll even read a trashy romance novel every once in a while.
I guess the moral of this story is that I will read pretty much anything that you put in front of me. I don't discriminate (unless it's a weird science fiction book or something). I know that such a voracious appetite for the printed word is rare among my peers, but I would honestly rather read than watch TV or play video games or do most anything, really. I guess my mother taught me well.
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