Constant Reader discussion

Someone brought this up in the library vs bookstore thread and I thought it was an interesting topic. I hope this is in the correct folder, I'm new.

I was married to a non-reader. I didn't think it really mattered as long as he 'got' my reading habits. In hindsight, it did matter, we used our time so fundamentally differently. He bought one book during the course of our marriage. It was about OJ and it wasn't even the big fat one by that Larry What's-his-name guy. Not being a reader didn't lead to our demise as a couple, but I knew I wanted a reader next go 'round.

Later, a male friend of mine and I would search Match for bookish matches for each other. We'd do keyword searches for favorite authors. We'd laugh at the man who tried to impress upon me how much he adored the "Kike Runner". Once, I found a New Yorker writer for him, the mother lode of Matching for us, lol.

My boyfriend is a reader. Different tastes, he reads less than me and he's not a library-goer. But we can read together companionably, neither of us is bothered by keeping the bedside light on, we can be on vacation and take a break by reading in a gorgeous spot. We'll share books sometimes and be glad when the other likes them. When we went away for a weekend and he pulled What is the What out of his suitcase, I was so happy. He started telling me how great it is and that he'd been up all night reading it. "I know," I said.

Hi Fran; I've been a compulsive reader all my life; until recently my husband would read the local paper and a few magazines specific to topics he was interested in and that was it. He loves to watch t.v.; I love to read... this is only one of the many ways we're opposites. It always made me a little sad that he didn't really read for pleasure; I thought he was missing so much; all of our adult kids are readers and they couldn't understand it either. Just for the record, my husband is very well educated; he's a professional with two bachelor's degrees and a master's degree in science related fields.

Imagine my surprise when, a couple of weeks ago, my husband was getting ready to leave for work (he works a night shift) and said he didn't have any magazines to read on his dinner break and asked if I had a book for him to read.... I was shocked! As he was already almost to the door, I ran to my shelf and grabbed the first book I saw and handed it to him in the car.

The book was Water For Elephants. He enjoyed that and asked for another! I couldn't believe it! I gave him Kite Runner; I found him on the couch reading, with the t.v. off! I found him outside reading... he was staying up late... reading! He just started Pillars of the Earth and I'm making a mental list of books I think he might enjoy.

We've been married for almost 33 years and he's just found one more way to make me happy; I guess the lesson is to never give up on a non-reader and always be prepared to suggest a good book!

My first husband was not a reader. He never read a single book during the 16 years of our marriage. He didn't look at the Sports Illustrated I got for him even thought he was an avid sports man. He didn't even look at the sports section of the paper.

I think it did have something to do with the demise of our marriage. He became so insular. He resented my wider interaction with the world.

My present husband spends as much time reading as I do. I read more because I read faster. (He's not reading in his native language.) He reads mostly nonfiction, I read mostly fiction. But every once in a while, when we're sitting on opposite ends of the couch with our books, he looks over at me and says, "I'm so glad you like to read."

Makes a big difference.

Yes, my husband is a reader. He's been a reader all his life. He prefers non-fiction. As a young boy, he read a lot because he had rheumatic fever and had to stay in bed or remain inactive for a long time. His reading background shows up in his extensive speaking vocabulary, one of the traits which first impressed me about him.

However, in the 48 years that we've been married, he hasn't read many books. Instead he reads the newspaper every single morning and reads a news magazine at lunch and during the day, (besides playing Free Cell Solitaire for hours on end}. He also reads current events online.

Every once in a while I'll recommend to him a book I've enjoyed. He'll read it and his usual comment is that it was "OK". So, as you can see, our tastes are very different. I prefer fiction; he prefers current events and non-fiction.

Despite his extensive vocabulary, he doesn't talk much. (g) The exception to that is if you ask him a technical question... then he will go on and on. (lol)

He does have a few favorite books from a long time ago. He truly values them.

As for discussing books together, we don't do much of that. It's a good thing we both love boating and being on the water. We can sit and gaze at the scenery for hours. (g) Here's what we gaze at:==>

http://picasaweb.google.com/Sea1934/L...

During the winter, we just sit around, read, and wait for summer. -Joy H.

Mine's not a reader himself, but he thinks my book-nerdishness is very cute :)

Fran, that too, too funny about your ex's choosing to read the smaller OJ book. It's such a telling vignette. As for your friend's getting Matched with New Yorker writer, yes, that is the grand prize for readers. It reminds me of a book I loved, Adventures of a Round-Heeled Woman by Jane Juska, about her experience placing a personals ad in the NYRB personals section, looking for a man who enjoyed Trollope.

I'm afraid my partner's liking Bukowski, Jerzey Kosinski, and P.K. Dick may have been why it took my father a full three years to warm up to him. He did eventually see past Frank's favorite writers, but only after reading a piece I'd written abut Frank, enabling my father to see Frank through my eyes. Still, I cringe whenever Frank insists yet again that my father read P.K. Sick or Kosinski.

My ex did not read nor did his family. They would take my book away from me and put it up high (I'm only 4'10").

The shared passion for books had a lot to do with how my husband and I came together. We do not share the same tastes, for the most part, in our literature. However, we do know each other's tastes well enough to find those prized jewels for each other. We have raised two readers together over the past 16 years, and one of them is a very talented writer who has been published.

The reader/non-reader pairing can not only be a difficult one, but it can be a relationship killer in my opinion.

I love these stories, thanks for sharing them. I'm laughing at the ex whose family put books out of reach (I can relate)and the recommending PK Dick to your father-in-law, smiling at one changing into a book reader after 33 years, another building bookshelves for the reader he loves. I read Round-heeled Woman, I'd forgotten that book.

Joy, your husband sounds so similar to my boyfriend, especially the not talking much despite an extensive vocabulary, unless it's technical. He's a not every thought needs to be expressed kind of man. Which is fine, but I had to make sure the cability to form the thought was there first, lol. Great pictures, BTW.

Fran,
So glad to hear that both you and your boyfriend really liked WHAT IS THE WHAT. I teach ESL and a lot of my students are Sudanese, so that book was especially meaningful for me - also a great read.

As for my husband, he reads some - mostly non-fiction. Only rarely do we read the same books. We have raised one reader (who rarely has a chance to read now because he is working so hard) and one non-reader. Both are pretty neat kids, if I do say so myself. :)

Ann D.

I really enjoyed the Jane Juska "Round-Heeled Woman" book too. When I told friends about it, they thought I was nuts, but she was so honest -- and her experiences were fascinating in the way she was able to understand and quickly get to know complete strangers. She also lived (or lives) near us in the Bay Area, taught English at San Quentin. Wonder what she is doing now.

Sylvia,
Juska's come out with another book, Unaccompanied Women, which I haven't read yet but plan to.

thanks, that's going on my list

My significant other is a reader, but he's more into non-fiction.

Our reading lists are not very similar, overall. I love classics and Tom Clancy, he loves the templar knights and Graham Hancock. I dislike philosophical books, he dislikes romance.

However, we both loves historical books, notably wars and military thingies.

He likes comics and fantasy like star wars, i like star wars too but not interested in star wars comics/novels.

So far, there's only one book that we read together. I do not mind with that, though. Won't ever force him (or vice versa) to read something.

My husband is a reader, but his tastes are very different from mine. I read mystery, primarily, since that's what I write, but I also read literary, women's fiction, and romance. His tastes tend toward science fiction and action/adventure. Neither one of us will take a trip without lugging along a few books.

Stagg's a reader. I actually had no idea he read so much when I fell in love with him. It was an added bonus.

Sometimes we read the same books, sometimes not. We both mostly read non-fiction so it makes it easier at the book store because often we are interested in the same topics. (except I read lots of nature and animal subjects...so usually if I come across a funny anecdote I just read it to him. He likes the funny parts)

I remember a boyfriend of long ago who was so appalled at my reading in his presence. He said it is rude to read unless one is alone. I was incredulous. All these years, I've thought he was really wacky to feel that way till the other day on "Gilmore Girls", the character Loralei's mother accuses her of being rude for reading in front of others. Am I crazy?

Hi Leslie, I think you're perfectly normal.
I mean, reading should be regarded as a indisputable right, alone or not. What's so insulting about reading anyway? It's just like any other activities (better in quality sometimes) plus it does not hurt anyone ;p

My ex-husband used to be really mad when I got myself a book, because I would be behind in all my house chores. I used to read voraciously as a child and later as a young adult, but when I was married, it began to be something I did with a sense of guilt. But I needed books to escape from my sadness. I agree with Silvana, reading is our right. And it was books that have inspired me to do the right thing..:-) It was books that gave me the courage to make myself a free woman and now I seize every opportunity to read without a sliver of guilt. :-)

Excellent note, Sheri. When I was younger, I read so compulsively that I did shut everything out--people, the lovely sights on a vacation, lots of things. It's taken me a while to learn to put the book down for a while and appreciate what is right in front of me.

Shakirah,

House chores? What are those?


:)

(my place usually looks like a frat house...but there I am reading away in the rubble...)

Right Barbara! We used to travel a lot and I'd find myself in our hotel room voraciously reading the guide books we'd brought instead of going outside and looking at the real place we'd come to see.

Shakirah, I have always been "behind" in my house chores. I understand completely how to escape sadness with books, which I learned quickly in childhood. I've always wondered if readers survive tough times better because it provides an outside-yourself escape, rather than an internal (mental) one which "fractures" the psyche, like say, Sybil. Reading also provides a frail sort of reassurance that despite what we're seeing in our own life, there are good people out there, somewhere. I guess you could call that "hope". Anyway, glad your'e "free". I know what you mean.

Shakirah, somehow I missed your note, but just found it now and want to stand up and applaud for you.

I second Barb's applause to you, Shakirah. I was struck by your message when you first posted it but somehow got distracted from praising your strength and insight. I'm so relieved you're free from that marriage. You're so courageous.

My husband reads more than I do and he reads faster. He's working on 100 books this year and I just reached 50. This is a good thing and a bad thing because our house is being overrun with books and he won't part with any of his. He has, fortunately, started going to the library.

My husband is not a big reader but I am trying to encourage it more - he finally got around to getting a library card and may actually use it some day soon! Until then I am just happy to see him picking up some books around the house that he started years ago and never got around to finishing. He's more interested in magazines and the paper - non-fiction tends to hold his interest more - sports/music especially. He enjoys humorous memoirs and a good thriller works for him too. I think he is just not used to making the time to read - so many other things out there that interest him and so little time to accomplish it all.

A large painting hanging in my partner's living room says it all: two children, a boy and a girl, sitting in wicker chairs reading. Though we watch our fair share of tv (since we both teach English, she English Education, me Composition, sometimes we just need to feed the eyeballs with junk, like Law and Order rerun marathons), we also like to sit beneath that painting and read, sometimes the same book, sometimes not. A few years ago, we decided to read at least one book together every summer, usually a classic: James, Adams, Balzac, Dostoevsky, Austen, Thoreau, to name a few. The rest of the year, our tastes tend to diverge, but that just makes for interesting cross-pollination. Thanks to her, I've read many more women writers than I probably would have on my own, especially Wharton, Cather and Chopin, for which I am eternally grateful, and she has sampled my taste for Old World sturm and drang by reading some Dostoevsky and Kafka. Though we don't always share the same enthusiasm for some books (to my disappointment, she didn't care for Crime and Punishment!), we still have interesting discussions about them. If she has broadened my literary tastes, I think she'd agree that I have influenced her interest in reading political / historical articles to the point that she now has her own subscription to NYRB. I'd say the biggest surprise has been that I now find myself perusing her collection of gardening books more and more. (Oh, how one mellows -- matures? -- in middle age!)To sum up, I can't imagine our relationship without books. During those inevitable patches that come and go in a long-term relationship (18+ years in our case) when things seem all too familiar between us, we can always turn to books for sharing new interests. (On the other hand, I am intrigued by fictional relationships involving characters who aren't both readers, like the narrator in John Fante's novel "Ask the Dust," an aspiring writer with grandiloquent ambitions, and his on and off girlfriend, Camilla, a waitress with no intellectual interests to speak of. One of the stranger but more compelling love stories I've ever read.)

My wife, Pam, reads a lot but not many books. Newspapers, magazines and browsing through travel and business books are her reading staples. Unlike me, she is not someone who will take time in the middle of the day to read a chapter or two. She's too busy working. I'm retired, she's not.

Every once in a while, though, she will get into a book: currently it's "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan.

One thing we do share and discuss are the articles in Vanity Fair. Love that magazine - the articles not the ads.

My husband doesn’t read fiction. He is a voracious reader of newspapers, agriculture related publications and the odd non-fiction book, but never fiction. It has bothered me on and off during our 19 years together. I do feel that it would be special to share the love of fiction books. However, I don’t feel he is “insular” (I am borrowing Ruth’s term from a previous post) in his world views, or in personal relationships. If nothing else, he is more perceptive than myself about human dynamics.
I do wonder though that his almost unconscious resistance to fiction is a cultural perception that only women read fiction. He grew up on an extremely rural environment among people of very provincial views. I doubt my husband ever had male readers as role models growing up.

Though one doesn't like to generalize too much about such things as gender expectations, my own experience in the classroom, to varying degrees, confirms your comments, Capitu, about male readers and fiction. I teach a lot of student-athletes, and within that group, the gender "gap" regarding Literature is fairly pronounced. More used to expressing themselves through physical movement than through books (many confess they "hate"to read), in particular they avoid Lit, primarily because they've had very little exposure to books at home and also because they tend to see Lit. as a devious puzzle designed to prove them "wrong." I suspect part of that attitude comes from too many teachers who've taught them to look for symbols in every leaf and cloud, as one of them put it. I have had some success, however, with assigning them Lit with sports themes, like Hemingway's short stories, "Fifty Grand" and "The Undefeated" ( the latter, about a beat-up matador who refuses to retire because it's all he knows -- shades of Brett Favre and others? -- interested them a great deal.) But even with those examples, they resisted "reading too much into it."

On a related note, yesterday on the Diane Rehme Show, the guest host was interviewing woman (daughter of Julie Andrews, can't remember her name)who's written a book about how to get kids to love reading in an age when 80% of households reports not reading a single book in the past year. It was quite interesting.

But I digress. Your larger point about gender differences in reading habits strikes me as quite ironic when one considers that so much of the traditional literary canon consists of the proverbial "dead white males."

But I'm willing to bet, Tom, that most of what is being read does not come from the traditional literary canon at all. In my experience, women readers seem to be open to a greater variety of books than males. The men readers I know seem more prone to giving themselves reading assignments, on the order of "This year I will read all of Steinbeck," or some other task. (Not all men, guys, there are plenty who read widely and even frivolously.)

Boys, even early readers, frequently seem to give up reading in the pre-middle school years. When my son did this, I almost fainted. I still chase him with books ("Look! I know you'll love this one!") with occasional success. Lately I've convinced him to read a few books by George Pelecanos - superb crime fiction based in our hometown, DC.

My husband does not read books for enjoyment. He is visually impaired, and, since he has to read in his scholarly life (he's a physics professor), his eyes won't take much more. He doesn't mind listening when I absolutely have to read him passages from books that I read. Gilead had so many passages that I had to share with him. I will admit, though, that I had a twinge of envy reading about Tom and his wife, cozily reading together.

Last night as I was watching some late night tv, Stagg was howling away in the other room. giggling like crazy. He has been reading Lewis Black's Me of Little Faith. We read a lot of books often different ones...but I will usually read about half of the non-fiction ones he picks up.

I read way more non-fiction in the last ten years or so than fiction.

Tom, I was fascinated by Julie andrews daughters work that you mentioned so I tried to find the interview onlie, couldn't fine one...but found this:

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/a...

Sounds like she came up with some really great exercises and approaches to reading...makes sense!

I think you're probably right, Wilhelmina, regarding the range of reading occuring these days. However, my perspective on gender patterns of reading among my friends / colleagues is probably skewed because I work on a college campus, where so many people I know read only "in my field." Personally I get bored reading the same kind of material all of the time, and like to graze in a variety of genres and subjects (the luxury of being a "generalist" in a world of specialists). Though, I confess to my own lifetime reading ambitions / projects -- all of Dostoevsky, Conrad, Thoreau, numerous Iliad translations -- all pretty "manly" stuff.

Regarding my comment on the canon, what I find ironic is that males today (qualifications assumed) would find reading Lit to be an effete or effeminate activity when there's such a long tradition of male writers, even "superstars" of their time, such as Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Twain, Hemingway, Mailer, etc. Interesting how things have changed (if in fact it is a wide-spread change)since when tough-guy writers like Hemingway and Mailer were seen as paragons of masculinity. Does anyone occupy the role today (or aspire to occupy it?)? Perhaps Jim Harrison, but he's not widely read enough to qualify, I suspect. William Kennedy's Albany novels? Pete Dexter ("Paris Trout" and others)? Don DeLillo (Mao II, Libra), though he would reject the lable. I don't lament the passing of this image, so much of which was a cultural and marketing construction, anyway, and, in my opinion turned writers like Hemingway and Mailer into parodies of themselves, but offer it only as examples of a tradition that might influence succeeding generations of male readers. And surely there must be some YA books aimed at young boys? At that age, I was immersed in Robert Howard's Conan novels and the Doc Savage series. Sure, it wasn't great Lit by any means, but certainly fired my interest in reading. I remember saving up my allowance to buy the latest Doc Savage installment. I wish I still had them!

ps I especially enjoyed your Gilead reference. Carolyn I and read it twice, once on our own and once for our book club. A book that inspires the sharing of passages!

Candy, Walton's work reminds me of some composition studies that have shown trends in kids starting out greatly interested in reading and writing at a very young age, when it was done just for fun and creativity, before gradually losing interest, around middle school, when school reading and writing became more formulaic and a test. (I imagine NCLB has only exacerbated that trend!) The question is, how to maintain or reinspire a creative, individual approach to reading and writing while also gradually introducing students to more rigorous world of ideas one needs to participate in basic civic duties, like voting, for example, and not just for national candidates but also local issues like annexation bills and debates and bond referendums, etc. How to teach students to "read" a website constructed by someone with an axe to grind or a any number of government or health-related organizations? I know I'm digressing here, but I do see all of these issues regarding reading as being connected in immediate and tangible ways.

Tom, could be Jim Harrison or his buddy Thomas McGuane. Both have been marginalized, I think, because they write masculine books and today's reading audience is largely female.

McGuane's swaggering males collide with the consequences of their behaviour; they actually illustrate the faults of that Hemingway male. But that subtlety seems to escape a lot of readers, and he is written off as a swaggering, macho writer.

So the snake begins to eat its tail: since the audience is largely female, masculine themes are marginalized; male readers find fiction effeminate; consequently, the audience remains largely female.

Add to that the fierce anti-intellectualism of the playground, and I think much is explained about why men don't read.

My husband will read the occasional novel, but it takes him about two years to go through one book because he usually reads only on vacation or on the occasional weekend. His favorite thing to do is take 8 or 9 non-fiction books from the library and read excerpts from each one until he's done. His main topics are stock-market and real estate investing, plus anything to do with managerial/leadership issues. The thing is, he always takes longer than the 3 weeks he has to read them, so he inevitably pays a fine when he returns the books. I figure he's paid enough fines to help the library buy a shelf full of books. A few more years of this and they'll have to name a new wing after him.

re: Enjoying reading

Research and my own personal experience indicate that interest in reading is a function of whether or not there are books and readers in the environment the child grows up in.

Personally, I read a lot as a kid mostly as an escape since there were no TVs or computers. Both my parents, though relatively uneducated, read a lot of fiction.

My son, though a Gen-Xer and into computers and TV, is a voracious reader because, I think, he was raised by two voracious readers.

I believe there is no substitute for early exposure to books and reading. Once, again we often expect teachers to do what parents either can't or won't do.

My son read so much as a child that, when he had the flu, the owners of his favorite bookstore missed him and sent him a book. He grew up on college campuses, drowning in books. I have read pretty much nonstop since the age of 3. My daughter loves to read and we share books all the time. My son now reads, at most, one book a year. Go figure.

I think growing up around books would encourage anyone to read, but I don't think it will necessarily create a "reader" - witness Mina's different outcomes with different kids. I did not grow up around a lot of books or readers, and was actually discouraged from reading by a mother who did not understand the attraction. But boy was I ever a reader! I read less these days (aside from work, where I read a ton) but being a reader is still a big part of how I think of myself.

This brings to mind a funny memory. At about age 6 I figured out that I could write the word big in small letters, or the word red in blue crayon, etc. and it would still mean "big" or "red." For some reason I thought this was about the funniest thing ever, I would write the few words I knew over and over in ways that did not fit their meanings and about fall on the floor laughing. I tried to get my mother to see how hilarious this was and she didn't get it. I followed the poor woman around the house trying to get her to understand, and eventually had a real temper tantrum (I was not typically a tantrum thrower), screaming it still says red, it still says big, etc. What an odd child I was!

Theresa

Theresa, I think it's awful she couldn't appreciate your precocious intellect more. The examples you cite are a conceptual bender, even to me at 27. You were a born Surrealist!

True, growing up around books may encourage a child to explore reading while they're young, but doesn't necessarily create life-long readers. We grew up with books towering and toppling over us, and only two out of my parents' four children are still devoted readers.

I'd be so distressed if my child didn't care to read or care for art. Thank goodness I have no such expectations for my dogs.

I don't think she didn't appreciate me, so much as didn't get me. We were and are very different people. It's kind of an odd thing to find hilarious, anyway.

Theresa

Theresa wrote: "I don't think she didn't appreciate me, so much as didn't get me. We were and are very different people. It's kind of an odd thing to find hilarious, anyway.

Theresa"

Theresa,

It's not odd it's brilliant. I smiled just thinking about it.

Did anyone have a parent like mine, who, when I was reading would say, "As long as you aren't doing anything...."?

It was a great and funny observation for a child to make, Theresa. Unfortunately I think that about 90% of parents wouldn't get the humor. (Unless maybe you happened to be Magritte's child. If I were Ruth, I would now post the "This is not a pipe" picture.)

My big observations as a child usually had to do with numbers, early childhood Number Theory discoveries, and my mother wasn't that excited about those either.

This is not a Pipe, indeed, Mina. Good one. I'm also thinking I remember some artist doing exactly what Theresa did with the colors. Was it Ed Ruscha? Jasper Johns?

Interesting thread. My husband and I are both readers, not surprising since we were both English majors in college. We met in a class called "The History of the Language." At any rate, we both read, keep lists of what we've read and what we want to read. We pass books back and forth to each other. I'll probably ditch Vernon God Little for The Oregon Trail, based on his recommendation. Actually he was a double English/History major, and has always read more nonfiction than I have. But since we've retired both our reading preferences have broadened. While I still gravitate to fiction, I now read about a third nonfiction. He has begun to read more fiction, and we're both rereading classic literature we read when we were too young to really understand it. Being married to an avid reader has been a great joy for me.

Theresa, I think you must have been a fascinating little person...I can't even imagine being like that as a child. My daughter was though. I think you were massively precocious.

It reminds me of like, how clever the Beatlesw were at sucha young age with the name of their band.

Kids really love visual and verbal puns...

Now...I should qualify here...for me reading isn't about the idea that it's a book.

The book format is incidental.

The book is a vehicle...a dispensary, if you will...for a story.

For me, it's not crucial that someone read books.

What is crucial for me in my relationships is that the person I'm involved with...as a partner, as a friend, or family is commited to storytelling.

For me it's about the storytelling and I'm not attached to whether it's via a book or a movie or a painting or a song.

Often when teaching an art lesson to people who say "I don't get art"...I often teach that a painting is a narrative. There are clue and images, either shapes, figures, colours that contribute to a non-verbal narrative. A little exploration of icons and shapes and motifs gives a viewer the dictionary...as well as asking oneself what colours and shapes or motifs mean to them themselves.

I don't think I could be hooked up with, or involved with friends etc if they weren't as passionate as I am about storytelling. So someone who loves movies, or music would fall into that area of commitment and enjoyment with me....even if they didn't read very much.

Actually, many of my friends don't read a lot...that is how I found onlien bookclubs to discuss the actual books...but one thing my close family and friends have in common is they love stories and storytelling...so they follow art and movies and song lyrics...plus they are awesome storytellers themselves!

Oh...and Andrew and Ed...I read mostly what would be considered "masculine" literature. I dn't call it that...but I realize critics or book reviews and some readers consder Conrad, McGuane, McCArthy, London, Fennimore Cooper, Melville (Burroughs, sci-fi ) to fall into a margin of masculine.

I would define the novels I like to read rather under the category of exploring issues of life and death, action, adventure, interspecies relationships, nature and moral choices..

These aren't masculine issues.

These authors used to be read by whole families...and neighbours at one time.

The literature that has often been associated with being popular and read by women...I have found to not provide the list of items I enjoy reading about in literature like my list above. Life and Death may be found in the popular contemporary books in last twenty years...but often there isn't nature or action/adventure, the outdoors or animals....so I search out those themes in other less trendy books.

Oh, I get that "as long as you aren't doing anything..." attitude from my mother who doesn't consider writing time real work. It's weird because she's otherwise really supportive when one of my books comes out, buying copies to give to friends and relatives. And she tells me how much she likes my writing, but she just doesn't get how many hours of concentration it takes to write and rewrite and rewrite a book. And truthfully, I don't really expect her to. Until one's actually tried to write a novel, it's really hard to explain the time and focus required.

My partner definitely got me interested in some of the great clasics of world literature that I must have missed when my head was elsewhere in college. It was always so fun and interesting to hear him talk about what he was reading that I figured it was time for me to get in on the fun! For the past 5 years or so, I've been reading a lot of literature and drama from the BCE era up to the 20th century. I feel I'm a richer person!
Michael

I love that my wife loves to read as much as I do. On December 19th she finished her 100th book for the year. My kids and I gave her $100 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble to celebrate! We discuss plots, trade books, argue about authors, shop for books and read history and mystery with equal abandon. My wife gives our four children "points" for pages read to earn a trip together as a family. It really works.

My husband is an avid reader. Like me, he grew up with books. Interestingly enough, we have completely different tastes but it's worked out for us. I had never really read much sci-fi/fantasy until I met him and I'm able to introduce him to some contemporary and classic books he may not typically read.