What to Read, What to Read

I don’t often find my self without something to read. In Stephen King’s book “On Writing” he mentions that one of the keys to being a good writer is to read, a lot. I am always in the midst of books which were gifted to me with various thoughts behind them. Ranging from, “I need a gift and I know he’s a reader so I’ll grab this book with the cool cover,” and, “I’m done with this book and thought you might want to read it,” to “This is my favorite author and I want to share.” All of which I appreciate. I also have stacks of books I have bought myself (usually things I think I should have read in college) and piles of comic books I need to catch up on.

Every once in a while though, I feel like I need to indulge in some modern literature. It’s an area I know surprisingly little about. I can wax philosophical all day about Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Shakespeare, but I can hardly tell you who the hot pen is at the current moment. I have indulged in the Stephanie Myers devotion, but that was more out of idol curiosity than a quest for a great story. I have only made it through the first two, but I feel like I need something to clean my pallet between doses. We’ll get to that another time.

The practice I have when I am in need of something new and different, the supernatural and the fantastical can only hold interest for so long, is to sell myself to hype and look up the New York Times Bestsellers List. I know, great literature is not always what the unwashed masses are reading, but those titles are there for a reason. In my experience, if they are on “The List”, somebody is enjoying them. That means I might too.  I don’t always find something that will go down as a member of the canon of great American literature, but I almost always enjoy the read. So next time you looking for something to read, take a leap of faith. Look up “The List” a make a blind choice. You might be surprised.

So, what have you folks read lately?? Let me know in the comments.