Light Reading.
In which I discover the necessity of reading stuff that is often dismissed as not of literary merit (whatever that is supposed to mean). I've been feeling a little blah lately and while meandering around Borders a few days ago had an epiphany. I've been doing a lot of reading that while enjoyable has been either demanding, a "you have to read this" book or serious (and often non fiction). This includes my literary journals, and other ephemera. Even silly Newsweek. I realized that it's been ages since I checked in to the fantasy worlds created by authors I've read in the past.
Such as Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series or Dave Duncan's King's Blades books. I picked up a collection of Valdemar short stories and-poof!-I was escaping for a few moments into a familiar and interesting world. What a concept! I forgot that sometimes this is what we can read for, to leave where we are and travel to a world or worlds created by an author. I am not a reading snob. I've never understood people who thumb their noses at one genre or another. A well written space opera is every bit as much a "real" book as the latest (insert favorite "literary" writer here). For some reason though I've been not giving myself the permission needed to read what are often fast and fun books that provide respite from a stress full day to day.
So, that's it. I'm reading the fun stuff. Of course, it's so fun it cuts into time knitting the holiday gifts...perhaps not a flawless plan.
