Like most of the readers I know, I love to read and I love to learn new things. My idea of a good time is to spend an hour or more in the library, browsing through the shelves like I would at a bookstore. I generally start wandering through the fiction section, looking for books I haven't read yet by my favorite authors, and to see if any of the titles looks interesting. Generally many do, so I try to limit myself to no more than half a dozen novels at once.
I
then move on to the non-fiction sections. I love to wander through the stacks
and pick up books on various topics that catch my eye. I find it interesting to
explore new subjects and expand my horizons. Since I'm exploring new topics for
my own benefit, and not for a class, I can skim through the volumes, read what
sections I find most interesting, and skip anything that I don't feel like
slogging through. I've learned so much about so many different subjects that
way.
In
thinking about my reading habits, I realize I've learned a great deal from
reading fiction, too. I read fiction for the pure pleasure of reading, so if I
find a novel intriguing I'll read it from cover to cover. And as most, if not
all readers know, novels are a great way to take us readers into new worlds.
I've also found that I learn a lot of things about all sorts of topics, like
what it's like to live in Iceland or the south of Florida, what it's like to
work in a factory, on a railroad, or even in the halls of Congress. The list
goes on and on.
Since
I began writing fiction recently, I've spent more and more time reading novels
and thinking about them. As I'm getting ready to start writing my second novel,
I've been very careful about what I've been reading. I'm trying to read the
best writers, not to copy their style, but to get inspired with excellent
writing. I'm also reading a lot of the American classics; like the Great
Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Jack
London's White Fang and The Call of the Wild;
Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain; Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Walt
Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Some of the classics I read in high school or
college. Others are new to me. Although I've always loved reading, I have never
taken a college course in the Classics of American Literature. Nor have I ever
taken a course in writing fiction. Exploring the American classics is helping
fill those gaps, as well as inspiring me to strive to improve my own writing.
But most of all, it's a lot of fun. And for me, that's what reading is all
about.
Terri Morgan is a book junkie and
journalist turned novelist from California. Her novel Playing the Genetic
Lottery, was published in May 2012. She blogs on her website at http://www.terrimorgan.net/terris-blog.html
You can contact her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Playing-the-Genetic-Lottery-a-novel-by-Terri-Morgan/192095997524663
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soquelterri
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/397836.Terri_Morgan
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