Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Reading as an Escape

"'A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies'...'The man who never reads lives only one.'"
-George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

March is National Reading Month:

Yesterday I was reading an article online about famous quotes showing reading as an escape, which is true. Reading provides us the opportunity to slip outside of ourselves and into the mind of someone else. This can give us a chance to relax, the opportunity to experience an adventure, to explore new worlds, learn new things, or even the chance to simply have a good laugh. I thoroughly enjoy reading and while some would say it is a waste of time (most notoriously my gym instructor), this fails to keep in mind one thing, what food and exercise do for the body, reading does for the mind and soul. I generally try to keep a mixture of things in my reading list at any given time and today is no different. My current reading list is (with relevant details and the current Amazon description).
  1. Crisis on Infinite Earths- Graphic Novel, Marv Wolfmann, 1985.
    "
    This is the story that changed the DC Universe forever. A mysterious being known as the Anti-Monitor has begun a crusade across time to bring about the end of all existence. As alternate earths are systematically destroyed, the Monitor quickly assembles a team of super-heroes from across time and space to battle his counterpart and stop the destruction. DC's greatest heroes including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman, assemble to stop the menace, but as they watch both the Flash and Supergirl die in battle, they begin to wonder if even all of the heroes in the world can stop this destructive force."
  2. The Public History Reader-  Paperback, Kean and Martin, 2013.
    "Drawing on theory and practice from five continents, The Public History Reader offers clearly written accessible introductions to debates in public history as it places people, such as practitioners, bloggers, archivists, local historians, curators or those working in education, at the heart of history-making. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin explore public history as an everyday practice rather than simply as an academic discipline - the idea that historical knowledge is discovered and accrued from everyday encounters people have with their environments and the continuing dialogue that the present has with the past."
  3. The Last Policeman- Paperback, Ben Winters, 2012.
    "What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?
    Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.  
    The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares."
  4. Master of War- Hardback, Suzanne Simons, 2009.
    *Note:This particular book states that it is the "true" story of something, aka it is an expose type book, so please use your own discretion in what you take away from it.*
    "Master of War is the riveting true story of Eric Prince, the ex-Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater and built the world’s largest military contractor, privatizing war for client nations around the world. A CNN producer and anchor, Suzanne Simons is the first journalist to get deep inside Blackwater—and, as a result of her unprecedented access, Master of War provides the most complete and revelatory account of the rise of this powerful corporate army and the remarkable entrepreneur who brought it into being, while offering an eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
I like having a large variety of books to read at any given moment for two reasons. First, so that whatever I'm feeling like I have a go to book, and secondly, I learned that if I keep different subjects I learn to organize information differently, which helped when I had many classes and work to keep straight.

If you have any good books to suggest please do. I read most anything other than paparazzi magazines. 

Best Wishes!   

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