This morning’s work read was depressing, but well-plotted. No blogging on work books–read here to find out why.

You can’t run and read at the same time. Believe me, if somebody told me how, I’d be all over that action like unsupervised kids at my local YMCA. Ever since I started running, I realized that most of the time I’m in pursuit of distraction. Reading is a noble pursuit, but there are many times when I’ve chosen to read because I don’t want to just sit still and think. My brain is always buzzing with so many thoughts and anxieties and ideas that it gets to be too much, and I need an escape. With running, I can’t escape (oh, the irony!). I just have to be. At first I thought I’d never survive a run without an iPod, but then I joined a running class where iPods were verboten. I was nervous, but the first time was okay and then I stopped worrying about it. I like how running puts my brain into subconscious percolation mode. At the end of a run, more often than not I have some realization about something I’ve been trying to figure out. Even with the iPod on I find myself drifting away into my thoughts, but not in my usual neurotic way. I go zen. If you know me, you know how extraordinary that is.

However, if someone invented a way for me to read while I was running, I think that might be heaven on earth. But it occurs to me that it’s only a small step from being able to read while running to having to work while running, and that’s not good for anybody. So, wish rescinded.

Next that appears on my library bookshelf: Catalyst, by Laurie Halse Anderson. A great read about a stressed out overachieving high school girl, with Laurie’s patented compassion, humor, and honesty. Running plays a big part in the story, hence the idea for this post.

Catalyst