The great escape

Still no word on the outcome of my job interview, but by this point, I'm not holding my breath. Moving on. Since there is no avoiding the tangible reality of my job dissatisfaction, the next best thing I can do is try to maximize the enjoyment I get out of the eight waking hours of the day when I am not tethered to my desk. The list of activities includes daily runs on the trail behind my house, nightly walks with my best guy, ballroom dance classes, Wii boxing matches in which I am occasionally the winner, Daria on dvd... and books. Oh, books. I have always loved to read, but law school effectively made reading a dreadful chore of the worst kind, and it has been years since I fully indulged my love of the written word. This summer, armed with my library card (is there anything better than "free" access to books?), I decided it was high time to rediscover pleasure reading. I started out with an offering by F. Scott Fitzgerald, not only because I like his style, but because his flowery prose actually requires me to slow down and think about what he is saying, rather than just speed reading for issue spotting and main ideas. It was wonderful to actually be able to sit with my book, reading at my leisure and not worrying about whether my interpretation of the author's intent would conform to that of a professor. However, while reading a book which offers some degree of mental calisthenics can be fun, as the summer has worn on, my interests have begun to sway towards stories into which I can really just escape. Yesterday I finished reading The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, and it was absolutely phenomenal. I could not put it down. If you haven't yet read it, get to the library right this second and check it out. The best part about being wrapped up in a story to that extent, is the fact that, while I was vicariously experiencing life in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, I didn't have to fully resign myself to life in boringly functional suburban adultville. It's like those horribly cheesy posters that line the entrance of the library. "Explore new worlds. Read." Here's one for you: Escape the monotony of grown up responsibilities and routine while you're saving up for your next big vacation. Read. Oh, books. How could I ever have let myself forget how wonderful you can be?