Reading & Writing

Although I occasionally delve into the treacherous realms of non-fiction, I have to admit that overall I prefer to stay clear of the genre. Sure, I like reading about other people’s projects and experiments and I love the odd literary biography but that’s as far as it goes. Reading to me consists of fiction, nothing more, nothing less. Whenever people start adding politics, religion and philosophy to the mix, I cringe and start having flashbacks of the courses I used to flunk.

My idea of reading is that it should be fun, entertaining and (thought-provoking) escapism. I adore quirky characters, engrossing storylines and a fresh original voice that takes me to unchartered corners of my imagination. If I have to chose between an author who alters reality to give his or her own twist to the tale and someone who chooses to stay as close to everyday life as possible, then I clearly won’t be opting for the latter.

In a nutshell, the non-fiction I do read is either voyeuristic entertainment or inspirational and I’m currently reading the latter, hoping it’ll get my own fictional juices flowing again: Het Geheim van de Schrijver (Renate Dorrestein) and Maps & Legends (Michael Chabon). Both books focus on the life of the author and include useful tips and tasty anecdotes about their passions and experiences. Especially Chabon’s book (which I still have to read) looks very promising as it’s less of an how to book and more of a why to book aka just what I need.

In the meantime I’m focusing on my duties as a journalist. After a quiet summer I’m back in business and in hot pursuit of a man who doesn’t want to be caught on tape. Ah, the joys of journalism, it keeps life interesting. And things will get even more interesting when I finally get my own column. Counting the days…