The Seasons For Imagination: Part 1—Summer
What I mean by the leading part of the
title of this entry is exactly that. Every season of the year, at
least for me, are the seasons for imagination! It is a system in
which I’ve trained my mind to create a form of escapism and completely
shut myself out from the realities and hardships of this world we
live in for at least a few minutes or hours a day through the power of reading. Now, to some, that
may seem a little too complex, and even crazy, or even weak to those hardcore realists; but I assure you, it isn’t; and at
times, it’s even necessary.
But what exactly am I talking about
here? Well, to sum it up . . . I read every single day. But what? And
why? Those were the good questions I had at the very beginning as I
started my reading habit. Let’s start with “why.”
As I’d stated above, I like to read
to escape, and thanks to my imagination in creating and enhancing the
pictures that are being developed in my mind as my eyes pickup every
word and sentence being read, that form of escapism becomes somewhat
possible. There have been many times, as I’m sure like most of you,
that a good story has taken me to places that I could never have
imagined or only have dreamed about going to. For example: last year
I read for the first time Ernest Hemingway’s
The Sun Also Rises.
That book for me is an EXPERIENCE!
As I flipped each page I could actually picture myself in France and
Spain with those characters witnessing the San Fermín Festival and
later watching the bullfights; then having drinks with them in the
local bars and cafes they attended during the 1920s. It was hard to put down. This book along with others I’ve read in the past
gave me that sense of calmness, peace of mind, and escapism that I was
craving—especially after stressful days.
Now
that we have the “why” out of the way, the question now is:
“what?” How do I decide a genre or subject? If I had
to
pick a specific genre, I’d say I’m more into cosmic science
fiction and mystery/thriller stories. Lately though, especially this
year, I’ve been reading more non-fiction—biographies mostly. But
just because I like those genres it doesn’t mean necessarily that
they would be my first choice. So how do I do it then? Well, to tell
you the truth, I’d say it’s simply mood.
Like a lot of people, I’m sure, I guess I choose a subject that I’m
in the mood for; whatever draws my interest. It’s funny, now
thinking about it, there was a time that to even to get into the mood
of reading anything was a challenge—especially at the beginning. My
disinterest, intimidation and boredom of reading really did a number
on me in making me close-minded when it came to literature. I didn’t
realize it at the time that I had completely cut myself off from some
of the best stories and knowledge to be gained thanks to the research
and writings of some of the greatest authors who have ever lived.
Thankfully, I grew out of that.
But
even after the realization and after the reading
journey began, a new problem came up. There were so many books out
there! Where would I start? Well, as I said before, I based picking
my books according to my mood.
But the problem was that I was in the mood for everything! Like the
robot Johnny 5 from the 1986 film Short
Circuit I
desired INPUT! INPUT! MORE INPUT!
Finally
after a while I made a decision. To better balance my time with my
personal life and to also help enhance my imagination in order to
escape from the realities of the world around me, but still keep me
grounded to an extent, I decided to pick my books according to the
season of the year. It was the simplest thing I could think of and
I’m still doing it to this day. To get an idea of what I’m
talking about let me give an example. This blog is being written
during the month of August, during summer. The summer reading
schedule for me would be from June all the way through mid September.
But
what am I reading? Well, when you think of summer, what comes to
mind? For me it’s pretty simple:
Hot
weather;
the
sun;
water;
the
ocean or bodies of water;
beaches;
swimming;
sail
boats;
large
ships;
shipwrecks;
pirates;
islands;
fish
or other sea animals;
survival—the
list just goes on and on.
(See
how the characteristics of the summer season start to evolve the more
I think
about
it?)
Eventually,
those characteristics lead me to picking a subject faithful to the
season.
Genre
doesn’t really matter now.
All I’m interested in
at this point is finding that
one
short story, novel,
or piece of non-fiction out there which
features some
of
those
characteristics, and
through its narration, allow my imagination to strand me
on that island; throw
me in that water;
put
me on
that boat.
With
the subject discovered along with all
its traits, it
now becomes
easier
to decide what I’m in the
mood
for.
I’m
in the mood to read about a shipwreck.
I’m
in the mood to
read about a killer creature in
the water attacking
beachgoers.
I’m
in the mood for a book about the descendants of pirates that
live on a small
island and
still rule their society according to the
old codes (that’s a real plot of a book, by the way. The Island by Jaws author Peter Benchley).
Usually, when it comes to the summer
season, I usually tend to read thrillers, adventure stories, and true
survival stories—all involving the ocean as the central setting.
This year, for the first time ever, I decided to read something new
not only for the season but as a new subject overall. And that
subject is NATURE. And what a way to begin nature with the study of
Great White Sharks off the Farallon Islands written by journalist
Susan Casey in her book, The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks,
and I can tell you right now that I’m
enjoying every minute of reading about her experiences and can sympathize with her
compulsion to return to the Farallones for multiple seasons to not only study the
sharks, but also the various birds, pinnipeds and other sea creatures
she’s encountered—not to mention also reuniting with the people she bonded with
during her stay. This book, just like the afore mentioned The Sun Also
Rises, is also an EXPERIENCE!
Before this book, I finished another
Peter Benchley novel entitled, Beast
which was a fun thriller. The plot? I
think you can draw your own conclusions from the cover.
It’s funny. Though I enjoy the
summer it’s not my favorite time of the year due to the extreme
heat. However, this season is the one I’m always looking forward to
when it comes to reading thrilling, fun and entertaining books. Thus
far, all the authors I have read over the past summer seasons have
not disappointed me in taking my imagination into their coastal
watery worlds and making them seemingly real in which I can almost
feel and smell the sea air and dive into the waters. I have at least two
books, maybe three, if I’m lucky, to finish out the season and I’ll
be sure to follow-up on them in a later entry. I only have a month
left. I’ve got to get the ball rolling.
But what about the other seasons?
Autumn/Fall? Winter, and Spring? Well with those . . . I’ll let you
guess and save those discussions for another entry during their
respective times under the same heading: The Seasons For
Imagination. For right now, I think this is good enough. But
before I go I would like to ask:
Do you also have certain times of
the year you read certain books?
If so,
what?
Until
then . . . may
the rest of your summer have cooler days ahead.
