Reading Reinvigorates

I read three books over the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm reading always, usually multiple books at a time. My favorite picks are often about human behavior, or habit change, or some such similar topic. But this weekend I threw in a fiction and an autobiography and loved every minute of it.

The first was David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. It reminded me how much I love authors who can make me laugh out loud. I read his stuff really fast because it's so much fun, then I'm sad when I'm finished. David Sedaris is just wicked funny.

The second was Steve Martin, Born Standing Up. I've been a Steve Martin fan since the 70s and even saw him live once during his "packing the arena" days. He retired from standup at the height of his popularity. The things he's done since standup show his depth as a writer and actor. This book gives fascinating insight into the man and how he became who he is today. I highly recommend it.

Finally, I read Outliers - The Story of Success, by Malcom Gladwell. In this book, Gladwell explores why some people succeed more than others, and explains that it's not simply because they worked harder. No, family, culture, class, even birthdate have extraordinary impact on success, or lack thereof.

A weekend spent curled up with hot tea and great books is one of the best indulgences I can imagine. I'm so glad I didn't feel compelled to get "stuff" done.

Comments

[John Smith]

Hi, Mary

Actually, it sounds like you got quite a lot done this past weekend:). I probably have three books stacked up to read on my nightstand, but that's as close as I can get to actually doing the reading. I'm jealous.

You make a really good point about the value of relaxing and of doing things you enjoy doing, versus feeling compelled to do things you "ought to be" doing.

Thanks!

John