The Swinging Reader

Are you a promiscuous reader? I am. It’s rare if I’m reading just one book. Probably as a child, I read one at a time, but for many years, I’ve been a reading swinger. Maybe it started during college, when I had several textbooks and other assigned reading going, and in an effort to save my sanity, I’d pick up a novel to read for five minutes before falling asleep.

I’ve always needed fiction. It stimulates my mind, but at the same time it’s restful. I think that’s because it really is a need. If I don’t have it, I’m hungry for it, which can be quite stressful. So I open a book and feed myself.

This doesn’t explain my promiscuity, but that’s not something I worry about. It’s gotten worse with the proliferation of e-readers. I have a different book on each one.

My Kindle contains my bedtime reading. Right now, that’s Keeper’s of the Ancient Wisdom, by Sandra Saidak.  This is book 3 of a series about an ancient goddess-centric society.

I used to take my Kindle with me whenever I went somewhere that I’d have reading time. Post office, BART, doctor’s, etc. Now I just bring my phone, where I have access to my husband’s Kindle account. This is where I’m reading Abaddon’s Gate by James. A. Corey. This the Expanse Series, book 3. I think there are several more after this one.

On my computer’s Kindle Reader, I have Tale of the Lost Daughter, by Karen Clark. This is book 1 of her series called Path of She. I’ve read Karen’s blog for a while, where she posts meditations and guides about following the Dark Goddess. This is the first novel by her that I’ve read and I’m enjoying it very much. I tend to read this during the day when I feel I want a break.

Wait – there’s more. My computer also has a Reader for PC, which holds a few items that I buy from publishers other than Amazon. While I can usually get a Kindle version of these books, it’s really a hassle to get them onto the Kindle. I’m sure this is Amazon’s fault, since they want you to buy all your books from them. They want to make it difficult to do otherwise. But not everyone distributes their books through Amazon. Or – and this is important – they have their books on Amazon, but based on my own experience,  I’m pretty sure the author gets a bigger royalty if I buy the book from their website. For instance, the book I just started on my Reader is The Spirit Gate by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. Maya is part of Book View Cafe, an author cooperative that distributes their own books. If I can spare her from a middleman such as Amazon, I’m happy to do it.

I tend to forget about the Reader for PC though, so I think I’ve reached my limit of books-in-process. I’m just glad I don’t have to carry all those physical books around!