“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.  Simple as that.” – Stephen King

I’m a terrible reader.  With a current average of 1.5 novels per year, I am certain I qualify in the bottom 5% worst-read individuals with a B.A. in Literature.

The above quotation by Mr. King really stuck in my side when I came across it last summer, and since the new year turned up, my side’s been aching a bit more than usual.  In this quest to write something worth my time and your visits, it’s time I became a better reader.

Always a bit on the eager side of adventuring, I’ve began my new year of better reading with two books to fill separate inspirations:

Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

When you’re new to any study, the rule of thumb always is start with the classics.  I tried that with The Triathlete’s Training Bible, which I religiously dog-eared thirty pages in before It became my first grading paperweight.

This one though . . . I got a good feeling about this one.  I’ll start it tomorrow; I couldn’t find a copy in China, and a friend is en route from SFO to HKG.

While I was waiting last week, I decided to take a chance on a young adult novel that made it to Reddit’s front page last week:

A Monster Calls

I was not fully prepared for this.  I thought I’d meander through a chapter or two, but I inhaled the text in a handful of sittings.  You really start to root for the thirteen-year old protagonist when the world pities his situation – his mother losing a battle with cancer – by making him excusably invisible.  At that point a giant tree monster would seem a welcome surprise.  I won’t give too many details, other than that this is an excellent book of the power of stories, and the difficult importance of truth.

Well, what a start to the year.

P.s. If you ever feel like you think you don’t have time to read, let the inspiration of Yeezus sink in:

“Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed. I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book’s autograph. I am a proud non-reader of books.”