Winter : The Reading Season

"Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. They are full of all the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. And quality of attention: we many notice amazing details during the course of a day but we rarely let ourselves stop and really pay attention. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift. My gratitude for good writing is unbounded; I'm grateful for it the way I'm grateful for the ocean. Aren't you? I ask."
:: Anne Lamott "Bird by Bird" [p.15]

Reading is magical, isn't it? I love to escape into imaginative worlds so easily created with words strung together on a page. As a child, it felt like I could devote endless hours of time to reading as if only a minute had passed. And now in my adult life, my love for reading is so easily overpowered by the pressing needs of life... it's a discipline to quiet my distracted mind and stop for a moment with a book. But now it's winter... and these brisk and snowy months offer a lovely chunk of time to read... an excuse to cozy up and spend those after-work hours with a book. For as much as I love summer, I know I need winter. I need it to slow down and let my mind and soul rest. I am thankful that winter gives us Chicagoans a break... a valid excuse to go to bed early, to watch snow fall, drink hot chocolate, stay indoors, and be less active. Winter is the perfect time to stack some good reads by my bedside and overcome the guilty complex of just "doing nothing" for a season.

 I really couldn't have said it better than Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird... a book that's piqued my literary spirit. Some other books that have caught my attention lately include: Epilogue (Anne Roiphe), Spiritual Formation (Henri Nouwen), Stumbling on Happiness (Daniel Gilbert), Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chobsky), and The Hemingway Reader - short stories and other excerpts.

Winter is here no matter what... time to embrace it and recognize the beauty in it.