“To feed your brain, fool.” – Fudge, Higher Learning

“My alma mater was books, a good library.  I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” – Malcolm X

One of the non-negotiable activities in life, on par with family, working out, and Dallas Cowboys football, is reading.  It is something that is done in some form, each and every day.  It is deliberate, it is intentional, and it is necessary.  If it wasn’t for reading, too much time would be spent doing things that would likely lead to trouble.  Reading brings clarity, peace, joy, and understanding to a life that is often routine, frustrating, and full of uncertainty.  However, the process of reading isn’t done for certainty as the ending factor; it’s done because there is fun in being lost in someone’s story and it provides a reprieve from being lost in one’s own.

Reading is done anywhere and everywhere: at the house, at work, in the airport, at the washerteria, at Starbucks, on the train; there is no place or location that is immune to reading.  If the book is thick as hell, like the Stephen King one which is being read right now, it’s lugged around in a bag.  If it’s a thin read and can be palmed in one hand, then it’s carried around freely.  A book is the one thing that can have wear and tear and still holds a certain fascination.  The fascination stems from knowing the story contained in those pages has been consumed, in some fashion, which contributes to the feeding of the brain.