When and why did it happen? I’ve always been a heavy book reader as
far back as I can remember. I don’t recall a time in my life that I
didn’t have a library card. I had a collection of books that I packed,
unpacked and toted around whenever I moved. Now I couldn’t tell you the
last time I read a book. I think it was a couple of years ago when I got
a book gift card.
My recollection of dates isn’t that good---hey, don’t laugh! You will
be at that point soon if you aren’t already!--but I do remember
deciding to get rid of ‘things’ and one of the first things I got rid of
were my books. I sold hundreds on ebay
and gave my collection of old gay books which included novels,
autobiographies, histories, plays along with two books on AIDS one being
“And The Band Played On” to the Stonewall Library here in Fort
Lauderdale.
Since then I have received books as gifts and read them but I have 3
books that I haven’t even opened yet that I bought 3 years ago!
I sort of became overwhelmed getting and reading magazines. I belong
to a web site where if you answers some surveys you get free
subscriptions and I am currently receiving monthly and/or weekly GQ,
Living, Forbes, Details, US, Wired, The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. I
subscribe to The Hollywood Reporter, TV Magazine, POZ and Self to
mention a few. Along with the daily newspaper I certainly don’t lack
reading material, but book reading got lost along the way.
I think back to the nights I lost sleep because I just couldn’t put a
book down. I also, at one time, couldn’t fall asleep without reading in
bed. Along with everything else the Internet has taken me away from
books as I read blog sites or the NYTimes or TalkinBroadway or the
NYPost or I am busy writing. Funny thing is that I have found I don’t
enjoy reading fiction on the Internet and if someone has written a story
I will wait until they are finished, print it out and then read it.
I guess one solution is for me to let most of the subscriptions run
out and don’t do anymore of the surveys. I NEED to get back to holding a
book in my hand--no nook or kindle but a book--and get back the joy it always brought me.