Friday Feature: The One with all the Books

As a writer and a lover of books, I'm always happy to see reading going on. I never really paid attention to how much my favorite television characters read -- if at all -- and I don't know that I've ever actually put a book in one of my characters' hands unless they were in school. (Shame on me! That will change!!)

While it's not unusual for me to find my favorite Grey's Anatomy docs reading medical journals, I never really paid attention to how much the characters read on Friends. I remember one episode where Chandler was dozing on Monica's couch and reading MacWorld (Phoebe's question about why it's Spiderman instead of Spiderman jolted him awake) and, of course The Velveteen Rabbit episode, The Shining in the freezer and Joey's investment in Little Women. Still the one with all the books brought lots of other episodes to mind.

Do sitcom characters still read? Or are they all on tablets and cell phones? There's only one way to find out and, devoted researcher that I am, I'm willing to do the work.

How do your favorite sitcom characters spend their down time?

Friday Feature: The Joy of Books

Last weekend, I got very excited over a seemingly small thing.

I finished a book.

I read a lot, but I rarely sit down and curl up with a book, and this time was no different. The book I finished was Michelle Obama's Becoming (which I highly recommend) and I had listened to it, sentence-by-sentence, chapter-by-chapter, in the car.

Mind you, I don't really spend that much time in the car. It takes me seven minutes or less to get to work (when there's no construction) and most of my other driving is around town. Still, when I read an article last year about how to read more books, I decided to put the suggestion of listening to audiobooks to work. I'd downloaded Audible last summer so I could listen to books on the beach. Why not try adding a little reading to my commute?

I'm really glad I did. Listening to Becoming, as read by the author, only enhanced my experience. Listening to it a little at a time allowed me to savor it as well.

But back to reading a lot, but not sitting down with a book. It wasn't until I read this article in the Harvard Business Review that I actually credited myself with reading a lot. I absolutely fall into the "consuming more information...than we ever have before" category, reading not only the e-mails and social media tidbits author Neil Pasricha cited, but online articles as well. 

That's still reading.

Yet, I don't make time for books. 

A funny thing happened when my audibook habit collided with Pasricha's article. My appetite for reading actual books was whetted. 

I have no intention of quitting my audiobook habit. Currently, I'm cycling among Billy Crystal's Still Foolin' 'Em, Brené Brown's Dare to Lead and Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, depending upon my mood and my destination. In addition, I've turned my attention back to several of the bookmarked books on my physical bookshelf, determined to hit the finish line with those as well. One didn't make the cut and is now destined for the library donation box, but two others are in regular rotation again. 

For writers, when "free" time appears, finding the reading/writing balance can be a challenge, but it's a challenge I'm ready, willing and able to rise to. 

What are you reading?

Friday Feature: A New Development in Books

What do you get the reader who has everything?

How about a dwarsligger?

Tiny books about the size of a cellphone, dwarsliggers are popular in the Netherlands. Meant to be read lengthwise and with one hand, they have super thin pages readers can flip with their thumbs.

Hmmm.

How do you know when you're too old for a trend?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Although these tiny books are popular in the Netherlands, they're just beginning to make an appearance -- and a limited one, at that -- in the U.S., so they hardly qualify as a trend. Yet.

As a lover of books, I think I'd love to have one of these but, as a reader over 50, I don't see myself reaching for increasingly smaller books, no matter how cute or portable they are. Still, as an educator and author, I think that if dwarsliggers get people -- especially young people -- excited about reading, well, that's good news.

Big good news at that.

How about you? Will dwarsliggers make your holiday short list?

Friday Feature: There's More Than One Way to Read a Book

Every year for Lent, I try to not only give something up, but also to use Lent as a motivation to create new habits or strengthen the ones that are foundering. Sometimes, the habits I'm trying to build are fun ones that I just don't make enough time for.

Like reading.

I definitely read a lot, but I don't seem to manage to get through books. I read articles, chapters, papers, exams...and while a lot of it is interesting, I tend to read a bunch of things at once...

...and never finish anything.

So, for Lent, I set a goal to read. I made it a small goal so my chances of success were high.

So far, so good.

Then earlier this week, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, whose books and artwork I greatly admire, shared a blog post about finding time to read. It was great information but, even better, I was delighted to know I'm not alone.

Can you identify? If so, you should definitely check out Debbie's post and, while you're there, take a look at her illustrations and books as well.

Then, go read a book.

Why Read Fiction?

Photo: SCY via Pixabay

Last Friday, I featured an article that focused on five benefits of reading fiction. Although those of us who love to read don't need to be convinced, we can always use a juicy rationalization, especially when it's well-written.

In addition to being a fun read, the article got me thinking. As a writer, do I feel as though writing fiction provides any of those same benefits?

Enhanced reasoning skills? Check! Having to figure out how to get my characters into -- and out of -- a variety of situations definitely requires reasoning skills. Then, once I've done this, I need to decide whether or not my readers will find all of this believable, which requires me to reason from the other side of the equation.

Understanding of complex problems? Creating complications is one of the most fun parts of writing fiction, and this is the part where my characters tend to chime in. Determining the answer to the question, "what if this happened?" is a key element in the construction of plot, and is usually guaranteed to make things more complex.

Empathy? Last week, I wrote about how writers need to be able to imagine and defend people who are different from them, which is an important part of empathy. Doing this for characters we love is easy; doing it for characters with few redeeming qualities is definitely a stretch -- one that can move us from sympathy to empathy.

Stress relief? Only when I'm finished! Actually, when writing is going well (usually when I'm writing dialogue), it's a great, stress-free feeling. Overcoming the obstacles between me and the keyboard, or between me and the characters, or between me and the blank page is definitely more stress-inducing than stress-relieving.

Photo: Dariusz Sankowski via Pixabay

Strong role models? Sometimes. Some characters make good role models, while others are more like cautionary tales. But even antagonists have to rise to the occasion sometimes, proving that most of us have the capacity to be role models when we choose to be.

Clearly, the fundamental things apply, whether reading a book or writing one.

Read it again, Sam.

Friday Feature: Why Read Fiction?

One thing I always wish I had more time for is reading. I read a lot for my job, but it's mostly textbooks and student work. In my leisure time, what there is of it, I tend to read non-fiction relevant to the classes I teach, along with articles and blogs that keep me in touch with what's going on in the world.

But in the summer, I make it a point to read novels. As a writer who's picky about the way words play out on a page, I discard quite a few books before I find "the one" that pulls me in and dares me to stop reading.

And, oh, how wonderful that is.

I know I'm not alone. Still, it's always nice to find support for this pursuit, especially in unexpected places, like Fast Company's article, "Five Ways Reading Fiction Makes You Better at Your Job."

Far less didactic than it sounds, the article briefly touches on how things like reasoning ability and empathy are strengthened by the simple process of reading a book. Kind of like having your cake and eating it too.

Definitely not a bad way to spend a weekend.