Reading

This morning I was feeling a little stressed. I read my post-it notes of quotes on my screen, and Julia Cameron’s leaped out at me: “Keep the drama on the page”. Wise, wise Julia. What do the other quotes say? “It’s only a book.” Lawrence Block. And aother Block quote (I didn’t meant that pun, honest) “If you’re blocked, lower your sights.”

So I’m destressing, lowering my sights, remembering that it’s only a book and getting ready to read somebody else’s.

What’s on my list? That Familiar Touch, by Dara Joy, novellas of the Matrix of Destiny. If you didn’t know this book was available, either (I found out by poking around her website), you can order it here: That Familiar Touch

And I really, really have to read the last Dark Tower installment. I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet. I want to read about the field of roses. I wonder if it will be the fire of roses from literary sources past. Probably, because Stephen King is literate in spades. I have loved his work since I read “The Stand” and realized he was quoting T.S. Eliot. I said, “This man is the greatest writer in America”. That was about 20 years ago, and now he’s finally getting the recognition he always deserved for his contribution to the body of American literature.

Which means that Kathleen Woodiwiss can take his place as least appreciated American literary genius. Her prose is gorgeous. A friend of mine said, “It’s like she writes in color and everybody else is black and white”. Why is it that genre writers have such a hard time being seen for the literary quality of their work? Just because a book is bleak and depressing does not make it Great Literature. And just because it’s horror or romance doesn’t mean it isn’t.

But this post isn’t about literary recognition, it’s about reading. Why do we read what we read? It entertains us, amuses, uplifts, encourages, distracts, gives us food for thought. People going through horrible times find a place of mental rest in a book, and they reach for romance, horror, science fiction, something that will take them to another world and let them forget about trouble for a little while. It’s a wonderful thing to have a good book on a tough day, and it’s an honor to have the chance to give somebody else something that might distract them, too. Writing fiction is the greatest job on earth. If I can make somebody laugh on a dark day, then my life will have had meaningful impact.