I still read faster than he does
I sat there on the couch listening to his slow breathing. It was Sunday and all was quiet in the homestead. The kids had shed their Sunday best and slunk to their respective corners of the house. The loyal dog could be heard licking her paws in the front room. You’d think I would be at peace, but I wasn’t
I don’t usually buy William books. He doesn’t read as avidly as I do. I spend hundreds of dollars a year purchasing books to read, but he may only get one or two. The last book I bought him was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I bought it last summer. He still hasn’t finished it. But yet, here he was turning page after page of my latest attempt having a reader husband.
I also sat reading. My novel was latest book club choice, Candle in the Darkness. I was heavily invested in the tale being woven by Lynn Austin, but I found myself being distracted by the man at my side.
“How fast is he reading that,” I wondered.
I finally broke down and asked what page he was on. He replied, “Page 77.”
“Huh, Okay.”
“Why what page are you on?”
“I am on page 68,” I muttered.
He chuckled. You see, I am notorious among friends and family for my ability to devour pages of a book in record time. It is a skill that is well-honed due to my being an editor. I am especially fast when it comes to novels that I am reading for enjoyment rather than work. Why was that nut-job reading that book faster than I was reading at mine?
He noticed my angst and tried to bolster his own prowess, “It’s just a really interesting read.”
I was highly suspicious, “Let me see that.”
He was enjoying a book written by one of his motorcycle idols, Adam Sandoval. It was a small self-published book titled, Inside My Helmet.
William was fully engrossed in the tales of Adam and his little dog Scooter as they rode across America. It’s a great little book. It has approximately 145 pages and includes pictures.
AHHHHHHHHH!!!! There it is. I am reading a 450-plus page behemoth. Every page is full of words — No pictures.
That smug little Pollock sat there with a smirk on his hairy lip. He knew he got under my skin. After twenty-three years of marriage, he still acts like the man-child I dated.
He looked at me slowly and said, “The next book you get me should have pop-ups.”
I replied, “I still read faster.”
Comment below and tell me who reads faster in your family? What are your latest “can’t put down” novels?
Happy reading!
