Gaining pleasure from the written word
Reading a good book is a great way to unwind or to relax and reading has been something that has been important to me throughout my life. I always have a book or two on the go and conversely when on the go, I usually have a book with me (think visits to the throne room or train journeys and the like).
It is fair to say that reading can be a little antisocial but then I like heavy metal music, and that can be more so! Mrs Baldwin will agree with me on this point! At least reading is a quiet pursuit!
Having mentioned my good lady; the long suffering Mrs B. occasionally gets frustrated with me that I’ll read when there are jobs that she thinks I should be giving priority to instead; or I’ll want to read at night when she wants to switch off the lights and go to sleep. No doubt my mum has exactly the same sorts of conversations with my dad.
As a dad myself though, I have tried hard to convey to my children why reading should be as important to them as watching TV or playing computer games. Fortunately my son finally seems to be grasping that and I am grateful for the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series.
Lately, I have gained as much pleasure from writing. I have always done much of this at work but this website has given me the opportunity to do it at home too. Writing one’s own material does of course require one to use one’s own skills and imagination instead of relying on those of others, and this is not a bad thing!
I’ll read anything that interests me in some way and, in much the same way, I’ll write about anything that fires-up my creative boiler. Apologies are perhaps due to regular readers that have no idea about what they are going to be exposed to next!
One of the books I am currently reading is Jeremy Clarkson’s latest outpouring entitled ‘Round the Bend’. This book is a collection of his latest written works previously published in the national press. This approach is quite interesting because Clarkson earns from the same work twice, he only has to write short pieces and, when he has the prerequisite number of new articles, another book is there for the publishing! James May, his fellow Top Gear presenter has done the same kind of thing too. Good commercial thinking!
As a reader, ‘Round the Bend’ allows one to dip in and out, to read articles as one has the time and inclination – a bit like my website perhaps!
In my own little world therefore, I can imagine the amazing day when all my abstract material is brought together and published in a similar way. Yeah yeah I know, I am dreaming but hey it’s my website!
I have nothing but admiration for authors like J.K. Rowling and Terry Pratchett that have such an amazing depth of imagination that they can craft works of such quality and length. It is so much easier to write a short piece, and then move on and write another about something completely different. I haven’t written a story since I was at school but who knows maybe one day I will!
By the way, writing is as antisocial as reading, Mrs Baldwin (and I assure you that she is a wonderful woman) gets frustrated that I make time for this nonsense too. One day, maybe I’ll have a ‘big idea’ and write a novel, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to write these short pieces and grab time when I can avoid the disapproval of those that I love!
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It is fair to say that reading can be a little antisocial but then I like heavy metal music, and that can be more so! Mrs Baldwin will agree with me on this point! At least reading is a quiet pursuit!
Having mentioned my good lady; the long suffering Mrs B. occasionally gets frustrated with me that I’ll read when there are jobs that she thinks I should be giving priority to instead; or I’ll want to read at night when she wants to switch off the lights and go to sleep. No doubt my mum has exactly the same sorts of conversations with my dad.
As a dad myself though, I have tried hard to convey to my children why reading should be as important to them as watching TV or playing computer games. Fortunately my son finally seems to be grasping that and I am grateful for the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ series.
Lately, I have gained as much pleasure from writing. I have always done much of this at work but this website has given me the opportunity to do it at home too. Writing one’s own material does of course require one to use one’s own skills and imagination instead of relying on those of others, and this is not a bad thing!
I’ll read anything that interests me in some way and, in much the same way, I’ll write about anything that fires-up my creative boiler. Apologies are perhaps due to regular readers that have no idea about what they are going to be exposed to next!
One of the books I am currently reading is Jeremy Clarkson’s latest outpouring entitled ‘Round the Bend’. This book is a collection of his latest written works previously published in the national press. This approach is quite interesting because Clarkson earns from the same work twice, he only has to write short pieces and, when he has the prerequisite number of new articles, another book is there for the publishing! James May, his fellow Top Gear presenter has done the same kind of thing too. Good commercial thinking!
As a reader, ‘Round the Bend’ allows one to dip in and out, to read articles as one has the time and inclination – a bit like my website perhaps!
In my own little world therefore, I can imagine the amazing day when all my abstract material is brought together and published in a similar way. Yeah yeah I know, I am dreaming but hey it’s my website!
I have nothing but admiration for authors like J.K. Rowling and Terry Pratchett that have such an amazing depth of imagination that they can craft works of such quality and length. It is so much easier to write a short piece, and then move on and write another about something completely different. I haven’t written a story since I was at school but who knows maybe one day I will!
By the way, writing is as antisocial as reading, Mrs Baldwin (and I assure you that she is a wonderful woman) gets frustrated that I make time for this nonsense too. One day, maybe I’ll have a ‘big idea’ and write a novel, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to write these short pieces and grab time when I can avoid the disapproval of those that I love!
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