The Joy of Books

Hello friends! Greetings from rainy, cold, Portland, OR, where I’ve got a cup of tea at my side, stacks of books to read, walks to take, and work to do.

These days, because of my TBI, I’m not working as much as usual, and I’m back to reading fiction in paper instead of my favored ebooks. It’s nice, having the tactile experience again. Books as artifacts were so important to me, once upon a time. Our household still has far too many of them, though not nearly as many as we used to.

It’s so interesting to me, how easily we change. In my lifetime, I shifted from vinyl and mixtapes, to CDs, to electronic music only. And I know some folks have now shifted back to vinyl.

Books? I’ve read and written since well before I started school. I haunted garage sales in my childhood, starting my collection of old books. The library summer reading program? I circled the board multiple times. Cases and cartons of books have been carted from home to home. I’ve met friends and lovers in bookstores, and whiled away many hours in them, coast to coast, and across oceans.

I still like to read non-fiction in paper. Philosophy. Social Justice. Theory. Business. Writing. It’s easier for me to reference things that way. Plus, my household has a gorgeous collection of finely printed books. Books on magic. Books on art. Books on the art of magic.

But fiction? Frankly, e-readers are far more convenient and inexpensive for the amount I devour. This leads to me misplacing authors, though. And cover art is a thing that draws me in, but not a thing to enjoy each time I pick up a novel to read.

So I’m enjoying paper novels again. And, despite not enjoying the reasons I’ve picked them up again, I appreciate the reminder that books are also physical things, not simply mental constructs.

Stories connect us—body, mind, and heart. Stories transport us. Stories help us imagine other worlds.

And we need that right now.

What is your relationship with books? What are you reading these days?

Speaking of stories, my Patreon supporters have funded another one. This tale features one of my favorite characters: Jasper, the leather daddy ghost talker. This month, like us, he’s dealing with the pandemic. He’s also trying to help a ghost move on.

It’s called Get Home Safe. I hope you enjoy it, and pass it along.