Reading is to the Mind what Exercise is to the Body

No, I didn't think of that title; it's a quote from Joseph Addison.

It's a good one, though; isn't it? I have been reading a lot lately because I wanted to get back to my roots. :) It seems like I used to read constantly, but in the last couple of years, I've "been too busy." Too busy? For books??? That's absolute crazy talk, and I can't believe I let myself think that for so long. Reading is a joy and a blessing, and so I'm reading again.

I thought I'd share with you what I'm feeding my brain, as of late:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- a right good book. I've been slow at starting this; I'm only on page 250 out of about 700. It's pretty good so far, but I just can't understand how J.K. Rowling will wrap up the entire series in 450 more pages. Madness!

2. East of Eden -- a book I've started twice now. I didn't stop reading it the first time because it is bad; in fact, it's quite the contrary. I was in college while I tried to read it -- bad idea when you're already taking several English lit. classes. The 200 pages that I've read in East of Eden are some of the best I've ever read. Then again, when are 200 pages of Steinbeck's not good reading?

3. Bit Literacy -- a brand new book written by usability consultant Mark Hurst. The subtitle is Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload. One of the many things he teaches you in the book: how to get the number of messages in your e-mail inbox down to a manageable number. Although this book is instructional, it's also easy and interesting to read.

4. The Holy Temple -- a religious book for Latter-Day Saints (LDS), and for anyone interested in LDS temples, I suppose. A very large portion of the book is about temples in ancient times and how they were used. Boyd K. Packer is one of my favorite religious writers -- he's exact and thoughtful. He writes in detail about complex subjects, but keeps it simple so that it's accessible to everyone.

So even after a list of 4 books, I still bought another one on Monday: Blink. Maybe I'll start it soon . . .

What are you reading?

Thing I'm thankful for: the smell of ink on paper -- lovely!