Monday, August 25, 2014

Steven Pacey Versus My Book Dysfunction.


I am an agonizingly slow reader. I think that I may actually write faster than I read. That is why it is with certain vulnerability that I tell people what I am reading when I am reading it. Because I will probably still be reading it by the next time we talk about it. This makes Audible that much more valuable to me. Not a commercial here, just a fact. Despite this, understand that I love the feel and smell of a new, or even a used, book. I like being the first person to break the binding, and, truth be told, the feel of the pages... Against my face. (Don't act like you have never rested a cool book on your face, your nose nestled between the pages.)

 So, it is no surprise when I keep books around. Instead of taking my post-read books to one of our wonderful used bookstores, I often keep them much longer than I should. Some, I keep for good reason, as I have several voracious readers in my house. Others, however have no purpose but to make me happy when I look at them. On top of that, I have a stack of books that I have yet to read, fiction and non. There is no logical order to what I will read next, though at one time I did: Fiction, non-fiction, fiction, non-fiction, etc. Since I have no real process, I often just read whatever strikes my fancy.

I do have a trend when deciding what to read versus to what I will listen, however: I will read non fiction 90% of the time. With fiction, I like reading larger tomes myself, whereas, I enjoy listening to shorter books. Another factor is the narrator. One of my faves is Steven Pacey. Were I wealthy enough, he would read everything to me at my behest.
"Mr. Pacey, would you be so kind as to read the morning paper to me, sir?" I would say.
Or, "Mr. Pacey, would you please read my utility bill aloud?"
He would, of course, answer in the affirmative and I would continue to happily pay him his due.

The moral of the story: Between Steven Pacey reading things to me and reading a good-smelling book slowly, Steven wins hands down, I guess.

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