back to reading

i had been trying to read 100 years of solitude for a few weeks now but i don't think i've made it past page 13. maybe even less. not the best book to start with when trying to jump back into after years of not reading.

yesterday i asked hannah what she liked about science fiction. her answer came down to a pretty simple point, "space is cool." i like cool things.

back in high school english they walked us through how to go about starting on a new book. you were to familiarize yourself with the author, title, year, blah blah blah. i remember that apparently the introduction was pretty important to read.

i decided to read ender's game instead. i did not, however, want to read the introduction. still i read the first few sentences with the first being, "it makes me a little uncomfortable, writing an introduction to ender's game." bleh.

i got over it and started reading the book. i wondered if skipping those first few pages was a mistake, if it meant i had missed something.

later i went on to finish the first paragraph of the introduction with the last sentence being "so be assured - the novel stands on its own, and if you skip this intro and go straight to the story, i not only won't stand in your way, i'll even agree with you!" thank you, orson scott card for the reassurance i had been seeking.

--

i'm under hannah's sheets with book in hand. she sits on her bed plucking away at the strings on her guitar while filling the room with the lovely sound of her voice..

in the scene i'm reading, the protagonist ender finds his mind wandering about something happening before his eyes, something which he finds funny. a superior asks what he finds so funny. after some prompting, ender fesses up to what he found so humorous.

as hannah continues writing her song, she suddenly bursts out in a personalized fit of laughter. having not been paying attention, i look up and sympathetically say "oh, i wasn't listening.."

she tells me it doesn't matter.

---

the book is an easy read so i continue reading on.. the subtleties of human thought and emotion are so fully touched upon in orson scott card's writing. i think to myself, who the fuck thinks of this shit? i flip to the front of the book.

"card understands the human condition and has things of real value to say about it."

yup.