Marc on Reading

I read books in spurts. Sometimes I don't read for three months and then I rattle off a bunch of books in the next couple of months. Ed, I've tried reading books for the pure professional benefit of it, and it never works for me. Not to say I haven't read some for that reason, but the topic has to interest me in one way or another or I'll never get through it.

During the past couple of years I've started jotting down titles of books that I want to read, then I add them to a list on my computer. That way when it's time to start another book, I get to it quickly because I already have the "want to read" list. There's no pattern to it, it's kind of whatever strikes my fancy. One of the tricks I've learned for myself is when I'm in a book store and I see a book that I want to read later, I take a picture of it with my phone so that I'll remember it when I get home. I've also started keeping a running list of books that I've read, if for no other reason than because that's what our Mom does. Did you guys know she has written down every book she's read since like 1983 or something? It's crazy, especially as much as she reads.

I'm on one of my spurts these past few months. There are a couple of reasons for that I think. First, Jennifer usually has band/choir practice at church on Sunday about an hour and a half before the service starts. I drop her off, drive to the local Starbucks, and read until it's time to go to church. I love it and it's become one of my favorite times of the week. Also, I've started reading for 15-30 minutes before bed. I find it helps clear my mind and I sleep better for the most part (sometimes I end up dreaming all night about whatever I was reading about!)

I've read some great books and some so-so books. I usually don't stop if I start it, but actually put one down that I started about a week ago. It was so poorly written that I couldn't get past the misspelled words and horrible grammar. I quit 60 pages into it. My favorite author (at the moment) is probably Donald Miller. I've read three or four of his books and they are very moving for me; I always put down the book feeling closer to God and more positive about my world. The downside is that I enjoy his books so much that they don't last more than 48 hours. I read one of his books on a submarine in an 24-hour period (working 12 of those hours!) Generally I'm all over the place as far as book content; it's whatever strikes my fancy at the time. Heck, I even read a Nicholas Sparks book while I was in Iraq! One thing is for sure: I read books that I want to read... As I'm sure both of you had to do, I read way too many books in college because I HAD to. Now I'm reading for me!

It's silly to a lot of people, but I'd love to be in a book club, because I love to talk about what I'm reading (as Jennifer can attest to). Unfortunately I don't know a lot of men who want to read a book together and talk about it, and no offense to any women that might read this, but I don't necessarily want to sit around with eight women and talk about them. When we were in Rota in the late 90's, Jennifer and I were friends with a group of 6 or 7 people and we all decided to get together once a week and read a book together, and I mean OUT LOUD. When it was your turn, you would read a page or two and then pass it on to the next person. We were all around only long enough to do one book, but I absolutely loved it! I have very fond memories or reading through that book together.

Lastly, I usually stick post-its in the books I read to highlight interesting quotes or particular passages that I like. There is something that bothers me about writing or highlighting directly in books. On a side note, I think it's hilarious when I see people highlighting 85% of a book.

Since you guys put down some titles, here's a list of that past several books that I've read:

Iceman: My Fighting Life by Chuck Liddell and Chad Millman
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller
Assault on the Liberty by James M. Ennes, Jr.
Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Transition Game: How Hoosiers Went Hip Hop by L. John Wertheim
Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement by Lauren Sandler
Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life by James Blake

Currently underway is Bucher: My Story by Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, Captain of the USS PUEBLO when it was captured by the North Koreans back in the late 60's.

Since it's almost midnight I guess I'll skip my 15 minutes of reading tonight...