28 June 2007

Booking Through Thursday: Desperation

Today’s question is suggested by Carrie.

What’s the most desperate thing you’ve read because it was the only available reading material?

If it was longer than a cereal box or an advertisement, did it turn out to be worth your while?

This is a tough one. I’ll read pretty much anything that happens to be in my line of sight, from graffiti to notes left on whiteboards from previous classes. But as for being desperate enough to seek out anything to read ... I don’t think it’s ever happened. I haven’t let it. I was always the weird kid who brought books on school trips (and still have awful memories of a Year 6 excursion on which we weren’t allowed to take ANYTHING and I got busted by the teacher with an L.M. Montgomery tucked in my jacket). From Year 11 onward I always carried a book in my bag, and now I never leave home without one if I’m going any further than the local shops. If I think I might finish my current read, I take a spare. On my one overseas holiday I packed a whole pile of books, and if I hadn’t dozed and talked through most of it could probably have read all the way Canberra-Sydney-Melbourne-Bangkok-Phnom Penh and still had volumes to spare. (In case you can’t tell, I’m well into the habit of overestimating the amount of reading material I’ll need.) The one time I’ve been caught short was when rather than take a spare I planned on borrowing more supplies, only to discover that borrowing at Central City library had been frozen as they began relocating to Brisbane Square. Luckily for me, there was a book sale in the Mall - I was saved!

5 comments:

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

As I asked my freshmen (who mostly hate to read), can you really get through the day without reading anything? I'm the same as you--I always carry more than enough books on a trip, just in case.

Have a great Thursday.

CeeCee said...

Yours is a very interesting answer! You may be able to help me with my problem. You must carry a large purse! Maybe I just might need to do that. Happy BTT!

Anonymous said...

I too was the weird kid reading books on class trips! Some people thought it was pathetic, but I find it pathetic when people appear to be proud of not reading, and even boast about how long it has been since they have read a book!

Marsha said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I popped over here to read your BTT response and was astonished to read that teachers actually forbade you to bring books on school trips. Seriously? Oh my.

Rowena said...

I was never much of a reader when I was younger, I was much more into talking about boys or whatever, but nowadays, I'm totally like you, I carry a purse big enough to carry TWO of my books and I always have a book with me wherever I go, and on the off chance that I don't....beware. It can get ugly.

Happy BTT!

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Header image shows detail of A Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, c. 1776