A Voracious Reader

I'm a voracious reader--at least I try to be. Books are awesome. There is something about settling down with a good book in front of a roaring (or smouldering) fire. It's a timeless experience, and transports me back to my youth.

If I had to pick between never watching TV again or never reading a book again, the choice would take mere nanoseconds.

While I own a Kindle, I'm a Luddite. Reading is one of my great joys. Part of that experience is the tactile feel of holding a book, and turning its pages. (And making notes in the margin). Sure, a Kindle is great if you are travelling, but otherwise mine lurks on a shelf (somewhere).

Of course it seems, I don't have enough to time to devote to reading books, and my reading goes through phases. Sometimes, I Smash Out one book after another and sometimes I go for a week or two without doing any reading of note. During the last year,

I've had the good fortune to discover a friend of mine has a store of Conan books I've never read before, and I have some he's not read. We've been swopping books back and forth, and it's been great. I’ve also been rereading my favourite Lovecraft stories and experimenting with some of his contemporaries.

I also read a fair few "brain upgrade books". Only an idiot thinks they know everything, and learning new things and practises is part of the great joy of reading.

(As Inspector Dreyfus said, "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better.")

In the following weeks, I hope to share some books with you that I've found particularly awesome. I hope you'll find something interesting and that you'll pick up a couple of them (and then read them).