Is it possible to run in circles on a treadmill? I believe it is. As most modern day fashion model lookalike wannabees, who are really working professionals moonlighting as parents - most of us would like to at least pretend to have some aspiration towards fitness. What does this have to do with libraries or possibly the written word, you ask? The answer is podcasts! I have recently been trying to get back on the treadmill - literally. Spring is almost here, the beach is calling my name (albeit at this moment a very faint call that is trying to be heard through the mounds of VT snow still covering the ground.)And so - Jane Fonda - eat your heart out - I am back! Carving out time for any selfish activity can seem insurmountable: in my case, this is time lost that should have been spent reading beginnings and ends of books, scanning reviews, or listening to a chapter or two of an audio book. This is what I do to keep up with the latest and greatest. This is what I do so that when Suzie Smith doesn't know what she wants or likes to read, I can run to just the right shelf and pick up that one page turner that has her name on it. So now, running, which I don't even like - has somehow become the 'guilty pleasure'. Not so sure about the pleasure part, but definitely guilty! Solution: Podcasts. I load my favorite literary podcasts, plug in the earphones, and set the pace... Sometimes I go a little wild and add in an NPR podcast about cooking, but hey - even those usually quote some published chef or foodie! So step after step, mile after mile, I listen, I absorb, and I get caught up in the world of publishing. In the words of James Brown ' I feel good!' Yup, burned some calories, knocked of some work at the same time, and made a list of new recommended books for on my night table. OK - so there's the proverbial wrench - MORE books for on my night table. More books next to the stove. More time to read I don't have, more pounds to shed due to indulging in the splendid non physical act of reading. I didn't have time to read for pleasure to start with, I can only spare time for the Rachel Rae 20 minute dinner. There is no more room for the stacks of books I really did think I had to read. I feel like I have come full circle: I am actually running in circles. I love to read, I became a librarian, I have to read, I don't have time to read (or run), I listen to shows about reading while running, I learn about more books I absolutely have to read - did I tell you I love to read, yes, that is why I became a librarian, and so... Well you get the picture. They tell me spring is almost here - and when it comes, I will start running outside. The treadmill will do service as a much needed bookshelf for all those great books my podcasts entice me 'check out'. And some day, I will figure out how to exercise and read, all without feeling guilt. Someday - until then, I'll keep running in circles .....
FAVORITE PODCASTS OF THE MOMENT: Books on the Nightstand and The Splendid Table.
