Yes, friends are books, and books are friends.
After a bit of mulling over my affairs in the past six months, I went back to the library I used to be a member of almost 8 years ago. I have since read half a dozen books from there already. The librarians know me by name (mostly my last name, for some reason).
Reading and being in the company of massive tomes has long been a zone of comfort for me. Ever since I began to read I have averaged between 80 and 120 books a year; the reader should note that I read from a myriad of genres and sub-genres. Lately my mind has been on sci-fi thrillers, but then again, it always has been on sci-fi thrillers. It's a veritable joy to read.
It's also more or less a solitary man's game. My friend from college (who also reads a lot) has been pestering me about this one reading group that meets about 8 miles from where I live. I've been avoiding the very thing because a.) I haven't been to the meetup place ever and b.) I'm prone to be standoffish if there's a weird vibe.
Last week, I decided what the hell, and let my friend drag me to the thing.
The meetup place is a public park in the heart of [redacted] and, dear reader, what a wonderful place it is. A massive park with a small pond at one end and benches scattered all over, it took me by surprise to know that such a place existed within earshot.
My friend and I met up on a crisp Sunday at 9:00 AM, and began to walk around. There are streams and puddles and ducks and baby squirrels all over the place. We ended up walking for quite a bit before coming to a small waterfall with a small ledge nearby.
This is where we sat down to read. I had with me a trusty standalone Agatha Christie, The Boomerang Clue. I read through 70% of the damned book in 2 hours! What a joy it is to read.
By this time our backs had begun to ache gently, and we decided to shift elsewhere with better back support. On this new bench I got a second wind and read another 50 pages.
As we were sipping water and laying our books to rest, my friend and I were caught unawares when a pair of butterflies began to flit around us. The couple was making double helixes and dancing around one another, and this made me forget myself momentarily and give in to the wondrous nature of Mother Earth. Here we were, in the midst of lush greenery and a gentle clearing of sunshine, with butterflies around us and flowers craning their necks to laugh. What a fun time!
Anyway, we never met up with the reading group; maybe the next weekend we'll get lucky.