Page turner

As a child I could spend hours reading, flipping page after page in a rush to find out more until relief came at the last page. I got into trouble in music academy as I was sitting in class with my music sheets in front of me and my novel on my lap. When I had exams, I had to ensure to have brought all books back to the library if not they would have always received priority above my class books. It didn't stop me procrastinating though as I became an expert in kneeding gumm bolls from eraser residue which I could then turn into eg self-made dices for games .


Although I still continuously read books over the last years, it's in a much more interrupted way with an average speed of a bit more than 1 book per month. Although I often long to simply disappear into a story again for a longer time, I rarely have the time or concentration or interest to keep reading for more than 15 minutes at a time.

In vacations that can be different. On our last day in Egypt (mandatory non-diving time before our flight) I continued reading a thriller from Michael Connelly: "Echo Park". It's not the first time that his books manage to keep me in their grip although usually it takes a few dozen pages to get into it. This time was no different.

After a while I looked-up and told my friend "uh oh, some more people died, shit, it really started". When I was asked a bit later if I'd feel for a walk I could only answer "Nope, I'm in the middle of something here, but don't worry, I'm progressing well, I should be done in 1-2 hours".


And for the first time in probably more than 20 years, I finished a book in 4-5 hours of almost non stop reading (which includes the start on the previous day). Wow, that felt good :)