The Book Tower

From Booking Through Thursday:

Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?
Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

If I’m engrossed in a book I can just about read it anywhere; queueing to check in at the airport, waiting for my daughter to decide on which pair of shoes to wear, that moment between pouring the hot water over the tea bag and pausing to take it out of the mug. The best book can almost possess you, so that it is with you at every waking moment – if you are not reading it in all of your spare minutes you might as well be because it will be occupying your thoughts anyway.

With a less enchanting book the distractions can give you excuses to not read it. The television in the next room isn’t really that loud, the cat doesn’t really want your attention, the choice of shoe isn’t really that unsuitable but they all combine to somehow release you from a dull book. The weaker read will fail but the best books will always overcome everything that’s buzzing around you.