before this little thing called writing came along, i used to blitz my way through books. i’d crack one open sometime during the day and not put it down until i was finished. not because i had to, but because i had no choice–a good book won’t let you go until you’re done.  and there was something special about being the only one awake at 3 or 4 in the morning, cocooned in bed, the reading lamp aimed just so. it was in that kind of deep quiet that a book really came to life; characters breathed and moved, their words not merely read but also heard.

i still love discovering books that can do this. of course, some books are just way too long, and some too exhausting to get through in one sitting without feeling like your brain’s going to explode. and now that i don’t have as much time to read anymore, i’m resorting to sneaking bits and pieces here and there, like a little kid swiping candy from the hidden stash on the pantry’s top shelf: a page while cooking, another while eating. it’s not the same, but what can you do?

what books have you read in the course of a day? or wanted to, only to be interrupted by the real world? the last book i got to read in one day was we the animals by justin torres. it’s not hefty in terms of pages (it clocks in at 128), but the world within them is immense, brilliant, and more than a bit heartbreaking.