Simply reading

I have just finished Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything". At 515 pages it is not that short. But considering that he is trying to fit in 'nearly everything' I am impressed that he resisted the temptation to keep writing! I imagine that deciding what not to put in was more of an arduous task than trying to decide what to write about!

I tried to read this book when I was a student at university. I was in my Honours year of my science degree, and immersed in the scientific world, research and learning. Not surprisingly (in hindsight) Bill Bryson's book didn't grab me enough for me to read more than the first chapter. Spending day after day in the world of science, trying to find my place in that world and trying to keep my thoughts orderly and coherent was enough to suck my scientific mind dry. Reading a book that covered a lot of the natural history that I was immersed in learning was not quite the distraction I sought after a day in the lab or with my nose firmly in the journal section of the libary.

Now reading this same book several years later I have loved every sentence. Everything I love about science and the amazing and confusing world we live in was brilliantly illuminated in this book. Bill Bryson's writing always manages to turn even potentially brain numbing topics into a nimble hop, skip and jump of the mind. Humour is his ally, and the ability to condense information and collate it in way that is readable and laugh-out-loud funny at times is a gift that I truly appreciate in him as a writer.

Besides enjoying a good read, his book also retaught me a lesson I constantly have to remind myself about:

Everything in its own good time.

When I was a student, A Short History of Nearly Everything was obviously not what my brain needed. Maybe there were other factors at play too, but I have learnt that life is not about reading the 'right' book. It's more about the right book at the right time. This month was the right time for me to read this book. Simply put, I was following my heart and my head - firstly all those years back by admitting that I just couldn't get through this book, and now this past month by feeling the flow of joy when reading it.

Keeping my reading habits simple means that I keep myself simple. If it grabs me I read it, if it doesn't I move on! Life is too short, and there are too many good books to get stuck on reading one that you aren't even enjoying!