Why am I always reading two books?

You may have noticed that the "What I'm Reading Now" list, over to the right, always seems to have two books on it and one of them stays the same a lot longer than the other.

The reason for this is that, well, I generally have at least two books started at any given time. Even if I finish one of them right at bedtime, I'll stay up late to get started on another one. I have to be in the middle of a book for some reason. Maybe it gives me a reason to wake up in the morning.

I have to be in the middle of two books, rather. And one gets read much more slowly, because instead of keeping it in my house where I can read it whenever I feel like it, I stash the second book in my car. That way I have something to do while waiting for my carpool partner to show up, or while riding home from work, or during a musical rehearsal when my part doesn't have anything to do, or while watching my clothes wash and dry at the laundromat. I always cram several books into my overnight bag when I travel, so if I have some alone time I can entertain myself.

There isn't going to be a "What I'm Watching on TV" list on my blog. My TV only gets turned on when I want to watch a video. I don't have cable and I don't have an antenna either, and I'm not asking for a handout. I've had these things in the past, and even enjoyed them, but I never felt I was using my time wisely - especially during commercial breaks! It got so that a commercial would come on and I would start playing the piano, or reading a book, and forget to go back to the TV when the break was over. I don't object to watching TV on moral grounds, or even for health reasons; I just find books a much more rewarding way to veg out. Sometimes, even when I'm visiting my folks and they have the TV on, I will still hole up in a quiet room and read by myself.

Which all goes to show why I live in "a fort made of books"...