From the time my children were born, I honed my skill at multi- tasking: common combinations included dressing a child with one hand while spoon-feeding a baby with the other. Having four children under the age of eight, my brain was always on alert to figure which tasks might go together most easily.
In those days before Kindle and ePubs, I carried a book with me almost everywhere I went. While my children attended the local library’s story hour, I’d be combing the stacks for interesting volumes to read. During sports activities, I’d be sitting in the stands, one eye on my kid (or kids) and the other devouring (as best I could with one eye!) whatever book was in my grasp.
Though I read scores of pre-1950 fiction books, I also developed my interest in the fiction du jour. In the 80s, I waded through Stephen King and Tom Clancy, John Jakes and Scott Turow. I breezed several Danielle Steele and Janet Dailey novels as well. In the 90s, I continued with Clancy and Turow and added James Patterson, John Grisham and P.D. James (being sure to read her earlier novels I’d previously overlooked). Though I read lots of fiction, these are the writers I returned to regularly. Continue reading “A Time to Read”