Juggling Books

It's a rare thing that I juggle anything heavier than C++ modules in a software development project...unless you count the projects themselves. I try not to do that. If I thought about all the projects I take on at once, I'd never get anything done. But I digress.

I'm just about always reading something. I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, whether that meant the mini-comics that came with my Masters of the Universe figures when I was a wee lad of four and twopence, the Hardy Boys books of my youth, or the latest thriller by Stephen King. Literature is in my blood. But it is very rare that I read more than one book at a time.

By "reading," I of course mean actually reading. I have a fondness of falling asleep at night with the talented narrations of Jim Dale reading the Harry Potter series. These nighttime wanderings through Hogwarts, Hogsmead, and the Ministry of Magic, are completely random and seldom in any sort of coherent order. So I don't really count those as reading, per se. Besides, I've read the Potter books so many times that I can, by and large, recite them verbatim in perfect synchronization with Mr. Dale...but, again, I digress.

At present I'm reading three books, all wildly different from one another. One is the recently released "Just After Sunset" by the afore mentioned Stephen King. It's a collection of short stories and novellas told by the master storyteller in only the way he can deliver. As usual, they're presented with a level of excellence that few writers...particularly American ones...can even hope to aspire to. So far, "The Gingerbread Girl" is probably my favorite, though all the stories thus far have their merits. It's a bit on the heavy side. I wouldn't recommend it if you're battling depression or are particularly adverse to a case of the hopping heebie geebies.

At the other end of the galactic literary spectrum, I'm also reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It's a classic that I might not have ever gotten around to if not for the coaxing of my beloved. Not that I generally have anything against classics, mind you...I just don't gravitate toward them as a general rule unless they contain legendary swords, fairy creatures, or vagabond outcasts named after fruity pie fillings. It's an excellent read, full of the sort of wit and dry humor you'd expect from a Dickens masterpiece. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. Not that that comes as a total surprise. My girl adores classic literature, and she's not steered me wrong yet.

Finally, I'm also working my way through American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I'm a newcomer to Gaiman's strange worlds and terrifying, twisted tales, but I'm finding that I rather take to his style and prose. I read his latest book The Graveyard Book just a few weeks ago, and found it delightfully spooky. (It's a retelling of sorts of The Jungle Book, where the boy is raised by ghosties, ghoulies and vampires in an old abandoned graveyard.) It was a great read that led me to try Gaiman's other works. American Gods is a surreal trip through the world's various mythologies distorted and warped by the lens of modern society. It's brilliant, unsettling, and remarkably insightful. It's likely that Neil Gaiman will become one of my preferred writers if the rest of his stuff is as good as these.

Well, I've rambled on long enough, I suppose. Hopefully some of you will have found this entertaining enough to leave a comment. (Hint! Hint!) If not, I'll just set Neil and Stevie on you. Ha! Take that!