On a Binge...

(photo from fanpop.com)

No, not food, not booze. Binge reading. After spending most of October doing research and making notes for NaNo, then half of November writing, I had a nice stack of books calling my name, whispering in my ear, demanding my attention, but first there was the holiday...

Thanksgiving was good, with yummy food and wine, and a wonderful phone call from my friend Morag in Edinburgh who brought me up-to-date with all the news from my old neighborhood.  It always makes me so homesick, but it's worth it to hear about everyone.

Then Mom and I did the Black Friday shopping thing--which wasn't as crappy as anticipated, though still not something I would normally do.  As it turned out I was able to find the perfect Christmas present for her, so it was worth braving the crowds and insane parking situations.  On Saturday the boys and I spent the day readjusting to being on our own again: they collapsed in their beds and slept all day as if they'd just finished the Iditarod, and I watched movies whilst getting things back to normal.

So, on Sunday, with chores done, dogs walked, house clean, no company, I dove headfirst into my beckoning pile of books...and sometime around 2:00am this morning, I swam up to the surface for a breather.  Now, obviously I had to walk the dogs, make meals, do laundry, take showers, etc., but in all those minutes and hours in between?  Submerged, buried, lost in space.  And it was great.  Totally, absolutely great.

The weather was atrocious, which means it was perfect for reading.  The rain streamed down the windows, winds howled around the house, but the dogs and I were warm and toasty inside, and while they napped, I read.  I've been to Hell with Sandman Slim, battling hellions and his evil nemesis as he tries to rescue his murdered love, while Lucifer's gone back to Heaven and God's on holiday.  I spent some time in a small California town solving a seventeen-year-old murder mystery.  And had a most intriguing adventure in the alternate reality of 19th century London, filled with steampunk and sorcery.

I'm kind of tired today, what with all the traveling and exploits, plus staying up too late last night, but I don't mind.  It's not often that the planets align just right: miserable weather, a stockpile of unread books, and a few days to leave this world behind to explore others.  And being a reader, that pretty much describes nirvana...