Can You Read?

I read.  I read every day.  We all do, actually.  We read street signs.  We read menus at insert name here restaurants.  We read magazines while waiting for the dentist to clean our teeth.  We are always reading.  Not everyone can read however.  But those that can tend to take it so much for granted that it becomes second nature.  I mean, think about it for a second.  The last time you were driving across town and you came across a stop sign did you actually take the time to sound out the words and pronounce the word to understand it’s true meaning?  No, you knew that it said stop, if nothing else that it was white letters on a bright red background.  (Did you know that the stop signs with white borders are considered optional in the state of Indiana?)

So having said that, I read.  Sure, I read the signs and menus just the same, but I am basically obsessed with reading.  (OK, I cannot say obsessed.  Everyone thinks that I say that word too much.  Maybe I do, I don’t know, but I feel that I have a hidden obsession for a lot of things.  And that might not be so bad if you think about the things that I am obsessed with.)  I read all the time.  I read magazines (Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, Golf World, GQ, Nintendo Power, Xbox Magazine, Details, etc.) and I try to get my hands on as many books as I can.  And when I get my hands on a book I like I tend to get hooked on said author.  Take John Grisham for example.  I used to read every book of his that I could get my hands on.  I loved his vision of the courtroom (he used to be a lawyer, so it was pretty accurate) and I loved the way he connected stories to an always impressive plot.  But he got old and I moved on to others.  (I remember growing up on Goosebumps.  Who can name that author without using Google?)

Lately I have been hooked on James Patterson.  Even though he does a lot of co-writes, I absolutely love his style.  I love his ability to connect three stores at once into a single mystery that ends with an explosive finish.  (He writes three books at a time by the way.  He is always writing and starts and finishes three books at the same time.  He always haves new books coming out and never leaves his readers too far behind another blockbuster mystery.  I guess that is good marketing if nothing else.  And he writes everything on yellow legal pads rather than using a computer.  It is nice to see an author that has not let technology over take his or her writing style.)

Patterson pulls me in by feeding my attention span.  His chapters are only a page or two, at most, long, and he is always changing the subject from chapter to chapter.  He keeps me interested and wants me to turn to the next page.  And I usually do finishing most of his books in a couple of days.

But I read other titles as well.  I read a fair share of education titles and always manage to squeeze in a few design books here and there, but nothing can hold my attention like a novel.  I even started writing my own novel a couple summers back.  I have, however, taken a break due to my job and my social media work that has consumed my life over the last six months.  Maybe I should pick that back up and see if I can not finish it this or next year.

Last week I was getting ready to leave for vacation and I decided it was the perfect time to pick that reading habit back up.  Why not, I mean, I was going to be on the beach all day and by the pool all night so I could get in a book or two while I was gone.  I went to the library and picked up a book that a client had suggested as well as a couple from my girlfriend’s suggestions.  One that she gave me was so good that I finished it in one day.

One thing, however, that was in the book that was suggested to me by Mr. Thad Miller of ddsmatch.com, suggested a few things to do when you read a book.  The first being write  a review of it.  Find places, such as Amazon.com, and post these reviews.  Contact the authors (which I did with said book) and tell him or her if you liked it.  Tell them if you didn’t like it too.  (Of course, if you are going to do that, make sure that you have a viable reason and facts to back up your hatred of their book.)

So guess what I am going to do?  Not only do I plan to read more (thanks to Mr. Tim Sanders from the book, Love is the Killer App for suggesting that we read as much as we can whether on lunch, on the train, or plane) but I also plan to take his advice and write reviews of these books.  Since being on vacation I have read Terminal by Brian Keene, Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders, and I am half way through 7^th Heaven by James Patterson.  That list also includes a couple of in flight magazines and a GQ.  (Do the two Maxim Magazines that I read count if I am only looking at the pictures?)

So you will see in the months to come book reviews.  I will try to collaborate those like I do the artist interviews that I do with bands.  I have also started to interview professions outside of music as well by throwing in, yet still an artist, the LEGO master himself.  I have one scheduled with Duncan Alney, a small business owner and social media guru, as well as Tim Sanders himself from Love is the Killer App.  I am trying to broaden the scope of my blog and with my recent switch to WordPress I am well on my way.

So please continue to read blog.rickyleeotts.com as you are sure to always find something new and something to meet your fancy.  I am growing as a writer, that’s for sure.  And I hope that you continue to follow me as I grow into whatever this new venture will become.

Look at this way, if there is nothing good on TV there is always something good on my blog.