I have been indulging this summer in what has become a decadent pasttime for me: reading purely for pleasure. After all the research reading of my college courses, (yes, I was one of those nauseating people who actually READ the texts), I feel like I almost have to relearn how to read for fun. Before my 4-year endeavor, I was hooked on Brother Cadfael mysteries and before that on Hamish McBeth mysteries but, alas, I have finished both series and am now casting around for a similar substitute. So, despite the overwhelming urge to cast furtive glances over my shoulder in an effort to sidestep the reading police, I have been haunting the aisles of book stores and my local library to sample authors the way people in tasting circles sample wines. To date I have indulged in light mysteries by Katherine Hall Page, Luanne Rice, Lilian Jackson Braun, Sharon Duncan, and my favorite so far, Emilie Richards. I have also read some children's books and reread the Harry Potter series, marveling once again at JK Rowlings' amazing ability to weave subtle, portentious bits of information and clues into tales of great imagination that capture life's eternal unrest between good and evil.
This luxurious use of my time reminds me of my childhood; long summer afternoons spent sprawled out in a comfortable chair, reading Nancy Drew mysteries and any horse story on which I could lay my hands. I have decided, in a new effort toward positive thinking, that I will consider this use of my time as relaxing rather than as lazy. I am not having a lazy summer, I am having a relaxing one. How about you? What are you doing for yourself that feeds your soul and calms your spirit?
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