Why / How I Read

People (particularly those that are in the same career boat as I) often wonder out loud why it is I read so much for fun. Actually, they usually ask: "How the heck do you have time to read so much?!?" Certainly it is a valid question, seeing that most residents scarcely have time to sleep and see their families before headed back to our hospital home. The "how" question is easier to answer - because it is important to me, so I make time. Period.

And "why?" - because 1) I love reading, I always have. Well, that's not true exactly. I have been reading more or less constantly since senior year of high school (thank you Mrs. Randolph), though prior to that time it was like pulling teeth to open a book. 2) Reading is relaxing; it is my escape, my chance to forget about the hospital and the student loan bills and the huge Emergency Medicine textbook I should be reading instead. It is a time to get lost in a book, in a fictional life in interesting places and mostly improbable situations. I tend to steer clear of non-fiction for the most part (with rare exceptions) - I don't want to really learn anything. Nor do fantasy books do it for me; they are just too far out there for me, and there is not enough acid in Eastern PA to make those interesting to my brain. Modern American fiction is where my love lies, typified by the likes of John Steinbeck and Paul Theroux and Michael Chabon. And I do love a good spy novel, if well done. (Trust that if it is on the Bestseller List, you will almost never see it in my hands).

People may look at me like I am a bug when I bust out a novel before grand rounds or talk of the latest beauty of literature, but it's my thing, my love, what keeps me sane. They are just jealous anyways... :)