I’m a voracious reader. I like to read more than I like to eat. And that’s, like, a lot.

People automatically assume when I identify myself as “a reader” that I’m talking about books, and many people also assume that means grand tomes like “War and Peace” (1400-plus pages) or most Stephen King novels (600-800 pages). While it is true I’ve read almost every King novel and collection of short stories (I’m currently reading one, in fact), I have not read W&P. 

The average published book is 200-350 pages, however. I read a lot of books in this range, often because that’s all it takes to tell that particular story or interwoven group of stories. 

But when I say I love to read, I’m talking about anything. I read articles all day, and not just because it’s part of my job. I read the Bible daily. Not all of it, obviously, just portions. I read magazines, pamphlets, and ingredient lists on boxes and bottles. 

Part of it is sure curiosity, and part of it is my ability to be easily distracted. 

My kids (all grown) and I often ask each other about what books we have just completed or are currently reading, and whether we’d recommend those to each other. “Read anything good lately?” is a commonly-asked question in our family.

And it’s not just physical copies of stuff. It’s digital, too. I have thousands of e-books, in multiple formats. If I see something that says “free e-book” and is halfway interesting to me, I’m going to check it out. If I think I might read it and there’s no hidden catch, I’ll download the book. Sometimes I read it right away, and other times I’ll leave it on my virtual bookshelf to read whenever I remember it. Which is usually when I see it advertised again and think, “Oh, that sounds interesting,” and download it only to discover I’ve already downloaded it and haven’t yet read it. 

As I was checking my email this morning, I saw a subject line that teased a free e-book. If I were a fish and that were bait, I’d happily get hooked. I know it. But I opened this email not only because of the tease of payment-less reading material — it was mainly because I thought it amusing. It was an e-book titled “The Timeless Charm of Print.”

I thought it ironic that a book extolling the charm of print was being offered only as a non-print publication. The 24-page book was intended for people who primarily or exclusively write and publish materials only for an online audience. It’s a plea that printing is not a dead art, and is useful, as well. Good idea, and true. I still found it amusing.

Whether you’re reading this on your phone or tablet, or holding a newspaper and reading this printed in ink on off-white newsprint, it’s been published in both formats. Those who care to read it, do so. Those who don’t, don’t. Unless it’s online, then they may read it and comment about how much they didn’t like it and didn’t want to read it and never like anything by this author and how it is always a waste of time every time they repeatedly spend their time reading something this author wrote and yet they continue to read it and continue to comment because they are trolls who actually really enjoy living a life of misery and doing their best to infect others … [deep breath]. 

Where was I?

Many of the items I read (as well as what I write) are for information gathering, while others are just for amusement. This one (obviously) is more of the latter. Sometimes I just want and need to read something that doesn’t require any work. And I guess if you’ve read this far, you do, too. Greetings, fellow reader! What are you reading? I’d love to hear your suggestions, in either print or electronic format. 

Oh, and what about audiobooks? Because it’s hard to read a book while driving. 

 

News editor Brett Campbell can be reached at brett.campbell@dailyleader.com.