So, what are you reading?

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my blog before but in NC I used to have a very lovely, charming colleague who began every conversation with: "Do tell me what you've been reading" rather than "Hello. How are you?" or "Hey. What's up?" He and I had similar tastes in reading and we'd often have conversations by the mailroom or in the hallway about the books we were reading. Sometimes if I read a fantastic book, he'd be the first person I'd tell. If I'd been particularly effusive about a book I enjoyed, the next time I'd see him, he would say, "Ah, Heidi. Now, I read the book you were telling me about..." and then proceed to tell me what he loved about the book too. The remarkable thing about his conversation starter was how few people in our department actually read books for enjoyment. But, of course, I have to admit that I too had a streak of that in me. For most of a decade, I read mostly 18th and 19th century books or, if I did read contemporary fiction, they were set in the the 18th or 19th century so I could justify it as sort of work-like pleasure not actual fun-pleasure. A notable low point was when I brought the Federalist papers to the Outer Banks thinking, "hey, this could be fun beach reading." To my credit, I ended up leaving it in the car. It held a grudge for a few weeks but I took it to a few coffee houses and it forgave me soon enough. Alexander Hamilton was many things: fun summertime beach-readable writer, sadly, was not one of them.
It wasn't until I left the world of literary scholarship that I actually felt I could read and enjoy books as I did before I entered my scholarly career. It's very odd, really, since what propelled me into literary scholarship in the first place was a love for reading and a love for falling in love with books. I've finally got that back now and I won't let go of it again. I've held onto my colleague's recurrent question over the years since, I think, it serves as a reminder that as teachers and scholars we should be excited and curious about reading.
I miss my charming colleague most when I read a fantastic book. If I still worked there, I'd hope to run into him tomorrow so I could tell him how much I loved Ted Bishop's Riding With Rilke: Reflections on Motorcycles and Books. It's funny how often the book you most need to read at a particular time just falls into your lap as if it is seeking you as much as you are unknowingly seeking it. This book sort of fell into my lap a few weeks ago-- though perhaps more accurately, it was placed in my hands by the kind Ted Bishop. There are many wonderful things about this book: his style has a lightness of phrase yet a grounded elegance. There were numerous personal resonances. There were many times when I was sitting on my front porch chuckling aloud and many other times when his turns of phrase made me stop and savour them. I won't say much more than this because I think you should have the joy of traveling its journey and discovering it on your own. I will say this:it's a book that's about the magic of books and reading but it's also a book that reminds one first hand how magical books and reading can be. Get it here and get it now.