Reading Life

I think I am about to go on a John Cheever binge.

At 6 o'clock this morning I read the last chapter of Falconer, an amazing and beautiful book, more a meditation than a novel. It's so exciting to discover an author new to me and to think of the books waiting for me to get into. I'll be heading to Barnes and Noble today for sure and, without a doubt, I'll come home with a stack of new books to add to the pile on the table in my study, a sort of visible to do list--but all pleasure here, no onerous tasks to slog through. How satisfying it is to take a book from that pile and then once I've finished it, write my name and the date inside--my personal ritual--and then find its rightful place on the shelves that line my study.