WHY I READ

I grew up reading everything I could put my hands on. I had the concentration of a chess master when reading, even when I was 6 or 7 years old.

My favorite books to read then, and now, were adventure books. And since the books would play themselves out in my mind as if I were reliving an old memory, I would place myself in physical surroundings that would emphasize the experience.

I remember reading the entire 24 volumes of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes series one summer while perched at the top of an avocado tree in my backyard.

I read Treasure Island and Tom Sawyer on a small island in a pond near my house.

I loved Burroughs, H.G. Wells and Alexandre Dumas.

Now I have a hard time finding books that captivate me like those did. Some authors can like Anne Rice, Stephen King, Michael Crichton and, to a degree, John Grisham.

One series of books, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams, had me looking at the stars with a totally unique perspective. I read the first book of that series in high school, most of it during a marine biology class.

The book was so funny that I remember laughing out loud while reading it during a class film about migrating protoplankton.

Mostly now I read mysteries and horror novels. They are the easiest to get involved in and the hardest for me to put down. I still read two or three books a week and feel slightly out of sorts if I don't have book to look forward to. Unfortunately, books these days don't captivate me like they used to.

I miss those days in the avocado tree, trying to find a comfortable way to sit on a branch while dreaming of grappling with a lion armed only with a knife.