Outside of trying to keep up with several blogs that I've been following, I really haven't done much reading of late. This is significant, because I've always been such an avid reader. One of the reasons I've been an introvert is because when I was younger, I'd rather curl up with a book than interact with people. I sort of got out of the habit my last few years of public school, but I picked it up again when I started college.

My first couple of years of college, I was in sort of a reading club. Nothing official, but a few friends and I would share books with each other and generally kept up with what the others were reading. Then we'd get into long, protracted discussions about the books and share our ideas. The activity really increased our awareness of the world around us, and we definitely became closer friends because of it.

My uncle and I also share a fondness for the printed word. We found, almost completely by accident, that we're both big mystery fans, and he has been able to point me to new authors over the years on a regular basis. As he's a well-traveled individual, he's also been able to point out great bookstores for me to check out in my not-so-great journeys. And even with all his international forays, he still says the best used bookstore in the world is Recycled Books and Records, right here in Denton.

For the last year or so, though, I've not been reading regularly. I used to wind down the last part of the day by reading in bed right before dozing off, but not so much lately. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, the reading bug hit me again. I started listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on audio book format on my way to and from work, I finished a book I was halfway through about 4 months ago, and I've started reading Jeffrey Deaver's The Bone Collector. My mind is once again challenged with envisioning all the places and people the words describe, and I feel a swell of energy I haven't experienced in quite some time.

The coolest thing for me, though, is that I've been able to discuss my progress through Harry Potter with my wife, who finished the book within a month of its release last year. We've been able to discuss plot details, characterizations, and where we thing J.K. Rowling has it right and wrong. They've been invigorating discussions, much like my informal book discussion group from college.

So hopefully, I'm back on the reading kick for good now. We've found some new authors we're trying out, and if we like them, there's dozens of titles that we have waiting for us to discover. Plus some of our old stand-bys are still churning out new material, and I'm looking forward to those as well. All in all, it's a good thing for me, especially right now, and I'm anxious to finish the HP book so I can start the wait for the release of the next title with baited breath...