This is how it begins
What’s that saying? “Your mother was right”. In my case it was my dad. I never liked to read. It was tedious, and my mind would wander off almost immediately. I hated to read so much in fact, that I barely passed most of my classes in high school because I refused to read the required books/articles/text book chapters. My dad tirelessly pushed me to read. “If you took half the effort you put into memorizing song lyrics to reading…” But as all revelations go, when you have experienced profound love, loss, or even hunger and grow, you discover a side of yourself that you never knew could be so fulfilling. Maybe it’s just getting older and wiser (sort of), but reading has become one of my most cherished hobbies; a hobby I would like to thank Metro North Railroad for inspiring and continuing to nurture.
In November of last year, I began a job that would take me on the train every morning and every night to and from Connecticut to NYC for about an hour. For the first few weeks, as I was still adjusting to waking up at 5:50 am to get ready and catch the train at 6:30, I relished being able to snooze another hour before shuffling past grumbling, rushed commuters out of Grand Central to my desk, even if it meant a cranked neck and pain in my temple from leaning on the permanently stained windows of the train car. However as the months past, I began to feel like an outcast and a bit immature for not using that hour to inhale some best seller or the NY Times. First stop was the Nobel Prize winners for Literature webpage. A little ambitious I know, but I guess my fellow passengers influence sort of put me over the edge. Not having any real knowledge of what I was looking for, I started at the top of the alphabetical list and meticulously read the bios and names of published works of almost all the authors featured. Again, a little overzealous.
The selection process I have come to employ when choosing a book to read has both evolved and stayed the same. It’s just a feeling, whether it’s physically thumbing through the first few pages and wanting to continue or going on the recommendation of some website or magazine. The evolution of choosing what to read involves the awakening I referred to earlier. Suddenly when I see something that sparks my interest, I realize that it’s because I have wanted to read this for a long time. In that moment, it feels like home.
And now I am in the place where I imagine most fairly new readers eventually end up; wanting to share my thoughts and musings about what I’ve read with others. What it has made me think of, what memories it has spurred and why it ends up being important to me. This blog will end up being about more than books, articles, poetry and news are also part of the discussion.
In November of last year, I began a job that would take me on the train every morning and every night to and from Connecticut to NYC for about an hour. For the first few weeks, as I was still adjusting to waking up at 5:50 am to get ready and catch the train at 6:30, I relished being able to snooze another hour before shuffling past grumbling, rushed commuters out of Grand Central to my desk, even if it meant a cranked neck and pain in my temple from leaning on the permanently stained windows of the train car. However as the months past, I began to feel like an outcast and a bit immature for not using that hour to inhale some best seller or the NY Times. First stop was the Nobel Prize winners for Literature webpage. A little ambitious I know, but I guess my fellow passengers influence sort of put me over the edge. Not having any real knowledge of what I was looking for, I started at the top of the alphabetical list and meticulously read the bios and names of published works of almost all the authors featured. Again, a little overzealous.
The selection process I have come to employ when choosing a book to read has both evolved and stayed the same. It’s just a feeling, whether it’s physically thumbing through the first few pages and wanting to continue or going on the recommendation of some website or magazine. The evolution of choosing what to read involves the awakening I referred to earlier. Suddenly when I see something that sparks my interest, I realize that it’s because I have wanted to read this for a long time. In that moment, it feels like home.
And now I am in the place where I imagine most fairly new readers eventually end up; wanting to share my thoughts and musings about what I’ve read with others. What it has made me think of, what memories it has spurred and why it ends up being important to me. This blog will end up being about more than books, articles, poetry and news are also part of the discussion.
