Reading Revelry

Reading begats writing. One of my favorite presents as a kid was receiving my very own library card. My name. My gateway to the North Wales Library (in PA) and a lifetime of books. Now I have a ton of material on writing as you can see - dictionaries, thesaurus, slang word books, writer market books, literary journals. It's important to check out the competition.

In my "pretty room" ( so named because there is NO television and when the boys were young there was NO fighting allowed here), I keep a pile of reading material handy. Daily, I read the Dallas Morning News. Weekly - it's Time and Entertainment Weekly. Then Writer's Digest, plus other assorted periodicals passed on by friends.

Current books in the pile - Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster (hysterically funny). State by State - A Panoramic Portrait of America edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey (50 writers, 50 states. I just finished New Jersey's section written by Anthony Bourdain, in his usual sardonic style). The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser, New and Selected Poems, Volume 2 by Mary Oliver, The Complete Poems by Elizabeth Bishop (all of these poetry books were inspired from the workshop two weeks ago), and Closing Costs by Seth Margolis (haven't started this yet, but he was a keynote speaker at a TWW conference two years ago. This book is a loaner - sorry Seth, no royalties from me).

Am I currently reading anything in my novel genre? No, but I love variety. I can't imagine life without reading. What's in your pile? Anything to recommend.....or lend?!

Joanne