Mythic Writers Blog

One of my favorite things to do is spend an entire day lounging on the bed, reading. Is there anything better than waking up, not getting out of bed, and reading an entire book in one day? Not too many things.

I am really feeling the need for a day like this. This weekend is just not going to let it happen—too much other stuff I have to do. But soon. Soon, I will absolutely have to schedule a reading day.

I love the anticipation in planning for a day like this. What day will it be? What book will I read? I save books for just such occasions. It’s like saving your favorite flavor of jelly beans to eat last—they taste so much better when there’s a whole pile of them to eat at once! Some books are like that. They’ll always be good, but they’re just that much better if you can read them all at once.

I have a book already picked out for my next all day read-a-thon. Charles de Lint’s Promises to Keep. A story by my favorite author about my favorite character of his! How perfect can you get? I’ve been saving this book for a while now. I almost read it during my last all day reading session, but I wanted to wait. I was saving it for when I really, really needed a Charles de Lint story. That happens sometimes. Sometimes I’m in a particular mood, and only a Charles de Lint story will do. And it’s especially glorious when that mood hits and I can read a story of his that I haven’t read yet. Bliss!

I don’t generally get in moods for a particular author. Most of my reading moods are about what sort of story I want to read. Often, I crave something moody and gothic, with decaying mansions and ghostly encounters (and those are really hard to come by, let me tell you!). But sometimes, it’s the magic and reality of a Charles de Lint story that I have to have. And I’m feeling that now. The anticipation is thrilling, that little quiver of excitement in my solar plexus. I can’t wait to meet the new people, experience the mystery and myth I always find in his stories.

What stories or authors or genres give you that thrill? What books to you save like jelly beans to savor slowly, at your leisure? I know I can’t be the only one who does this, right? I hope we get a good list going–I can always use more books to add to the pile!

All this talk about saving and savoring books has made me antsy to have my reading day. I think I’ll grab the calendar now and see when I can make this happen. There’s a story waiting for me—I don’t want to keep it too long.