Reading

I've spent the last year immersed in books. I returned to reading. I've read so many books. It's been a joy. Not all have registered with me, some have been fleeting entertainment, suitable for the moment. Others have been subtle and soothing, bringing me around to new words, settings, history.

I started to keep a journal of books, listing out the ones I'd read, when and what I felt about them. I bought a gorgeous book to record the details. It started out well, the list and then it drifted as the quantity exceeded the quality.

I have had a ball, reading. Having a book close to me at most times. I have Kindle, second hand books, new books, smelly old ones, new shiny beautiful ones.

In this last week I picked up Kerouac. I've read him before but had only a vague recollection of enjoyment. I was pointed in this direction by a Netflix documentary on climbing in Yosemite. It referenced Dharma Bums.

We bought a Campervan and on our recent first adventure I started to read Kerouac. It was a hard read, those books with pretty covers were calling me. His writing was hard to follow, the ebb and flow, the casual nature of the language and the almost trite content. And then, and then it grabbed me. I read some lines and become overawed by his words. His view, perspective and the familiarity.

I have not yet finished it but it will be one of my all time favourites. It has crept into my being, and I've absorbed it. One of those books, they come along rarely and when they do they are a treasure.

Reading is such a privilege and I covet it,  I'm not always comfortable with it. I have read consistently throughout my life. But there have been times when I've been without book. But not in this last year.

'The secret of this kind of climbing,' said Japhy,'is like Zen. Don't think. Just dance along. It's the easiest thing in the world, actually easier than walking on flat ground which is monotonous. The cute little problems present themselves at each step and yet you never hesitate and you find yourself on another boulder you picked out for no special reason at all, just like Zen.'