Reading for others
A lot of what I do, I do for others. While that is a natural result of having relationships and kids, a lot of the things that I do for myself are really for others as well. One of those things is reading. I read financial magazines and gossip of Norwegian millionaires to feed to my Wall Street connection. I read of music, instruments, fishing and politics to be able to talk to my kids. I go to art exhibitions and read art reviews and design reports, not to mention descriptions of hunting dogs and how to train them, in order to have a topic in common with my older sisters. My younger sister is easy - I have a huge big research topic in common with her...

But for my husband I read In a Dark Time. The current project in this delicious pearl of a blog is a close reading of Catch 22. Loren Webster, the writer of that very interesting blog, shares the insights gained from this book in a way that so much reminds me of the way my husband reads when he plans to use something for teaching, it is uncanny. They have a similar interest in literature, poems and teaching which gives me something to share with the man I have lived with for 21 years. And oddly, while I read In a Dark Time it reminds me why I still live with my husband: the fresh, intelligent insights, the deep understanding of culture, the gentle approach to interpretation, it is so seductive I find myself returning to this blog over and over again. Then I use it to contribute to the conversation which has been going on in this relationship for two decades.

And I think I have to look through the bookshelves. Catch 22 is here somewhere, in at least one copy.