3 minute read

I like books. I like reading. Books are more satisfying that a film in many ways, not least when you have completed it and think back on the story, plot, twists, characters and all. Although probably not, this may be to do with the fact that memories of things that happened a while ago always seem better those of things that just happened, and no matter how quick a reader you are, if you’re getting though a book in 90 minutes then I suspect you’re skim reading and missing a lot of the detail.

To me, reading a book is a commitment. Watching a film is way of killing time, but if I start a book I will finish it, even if this takes many months …. and on occasions it has. I like reading, I just never seem to have the time.

I tend to do most of my reading when I am on holiday. I really enjoy travelling and am one of those people who don’t mind sitting in an airport watching people mill about. In fact, I would go so far as say it is something I enjoy. I know folk who hate airports and just want to get where they are going, but for me the journey is almost as important as the destination itself. The journey there and back. The journey gives me time to think. There’s not really much you can do to affect how quickly you get there (if you’re on a plane, or sitting waiting on your plane at the airport) so it’s the prefect opportunity to clear your mind. You’re at the mercy of the airlines. Just relax.

And so I am quite content sitting in the airport (or on the plane) with my headphones and a book or two. I can get totally engrossed in a good book and read it for hours, and time just seems to fly by. I also seem to read a lot when I’m wherever I’m going on holiday, but when I’m just off work at home I don’t seem to read much. I guess round the flat there’s always something that needs done, and reading seems like such a self-indulgent luxury that it generally gets pushed aside whenever I think of something else that needs done, or something I should do, or something I could do.

So the long and short of all that is that it generally takes me weeks, or more commonly months, to finish a book. Stef sent me Me talk pretty one day by David Sedaris which literally took me about a year to read. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but just because I didn’t seem to have the time to read.

Conversely there are books that I have finished within a couple of days when I’ve been travelling such as Skinny dip by Carl Hiaasen and Pest Control by Bill Fitzhugh.

And then there are those which I’ve finished in under a week cause they so enjoyable that it was difficult to put them down, such as Tell no one by Haral Coben, A dirty job by Christopher Moore and Firewall by Andy McNab.

However, up until yesterday I don’t think I’d ever read an entire book in a single day (with the obvious exception of Spot goes walkies and other childrens books). For a couple of reasons I didn’t have much else to do yesterday morning so I picked up The gum thief by Douglas Coupland and found I couldn’t put it down. Admittedly it’s not a very long book (275 pages or so) but it was such an enjoyable read. The book didn’t contain any direct dialogue between the characters (as such) but consisted entirely of dialogue, and had a neat twist at the end. OK, this probably doesn’t make much sense but I suggest you go and read it. Really … a jolly good book. And if I were still giving out badger paws Badger Paws I’d give it a hearty 4 out of four.

Don’t forget to tune in again in late 2011 when I’ll have another book review up…