Currently, I’m reading four different books.

I usually read between two and five at a time, largely due to my constantly shifting interests. However, only when the majority of these books are fiction, do I run into the trouble of getting their stories blurred together in my mind. I’ve been trying to keep fiction and non-fiction reading balanced and likewise, I also try to read newly published works as well as works published before I was even a dot in the cosmic timeline. This all helps keep an opened mind.

That said, here’s my current reading list:

1) “Physics of the Future” by Michio Kaku (Non-Fiction) 2011

2) “Contact; a novel” by Carl Sagan (Fiction) 1934;1985 reprint

3) “The Particle at the end of the Universe” by Sean Carroll (NF) 2012

4) “Growing Up” by Karl De Schweinitz (NF) 1930

Except for number 4, they all deal with space, technology, and the human desire for exploration. The 4th one, “Growing Up” is a 1930′s publication of how plants and animals become alive, are born, and grow-up, with a specific highlight to the similarities. That’s what drew me to the book in the Public Library’s book-sale fundraiser. In my own writing, reading this non-fiction story of life has given me new perspective to the simple complexities of similarities. I’m often drawn to the cosmic picture, where life on Earth is insignificant, but in reading this I am reminded of how awesome the reflection of cosmic truths in smaller ones. Too, admittedly, it was a reminder to write simple sentences. I often get so carried away in the explaining, I forget that readers might need simpler terms.

“Physics of the Future” was a birthday present from my eldest sister in 2011. She knew I love to explore what’s possible and she wanted to show me what’s probable. Plus, Michio Kaku is right there with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson in my book, I’d love to have a brunch discussion with them any day, and she knew that too. This book explores what our daily lives might look with the advancements of science up to the year 2100, and it’s my second time reading through it. What’s particularly cool about it, is how theoretical physicist Michio Kaku describes the technology we currently have today, and how each was shaped from past discoveries, to articulate how they will advance in the future. Naturally, reading this book has influenced the technologies I consider in my fiction writing, often of alternate realities of what could (or might) be if different things happened on Earth or to an Earthling. (lol, I just wanted to use that word, but I still mean what I said.) I highly recommend this book for any sci-fi/distopian/utopian writers!

Having seen the movie with my Dad in the 90′s, “Contact” was an awe inspiring tale of first contact with intelligent life outside of Earth. I had no idea it was a book first. Even after I learned that Carl Sagan had written the story long before the film ever became a consideration, it still took years more before I finally got to reading it. At the same time I bought “Growing Up” I found a copy of “Contact; a novel” in a 1985 large print reprint and I decided that the universe was telling me something. I mention that so it makes more sense when I explain that the story written seems as much about first contact with aliens as it is about the lack of contact we make with life on Earth. From the beginning, this undertone is a refreshing slap in the face that gave immediate (relateable) understanding to the overlooked assumptions we (humans) tend to make. It was a perspective-changer and much needed lesson which I continue to explore and utilize in my writing. If you enjoy exploring alternate perspectives (not limited to human life) it’s a great read. It prompts many excellent thinking questions which are worth bringing to poetic light.

It’s funny to me, that “The Particle at the end of the Universe” should actually be a story about the beginnings, and the last I cover in this confession of a reader’s obsession. I’ve been a little familiar with the topics covered in this book, which is why I picked it up. I was curious to learn more. Even if I hadn’t known but what was written in the cover, Sean Carroll did an excellent job of making the facts simple enough to follow. It’s not just a story about particles, and the search for Higgs-Boson, but about the Large Hadron Collider that passionate scientists and engineers built to prove it existed. He’s even included some diagrams and photographs, which I love! More than that, and to my surprise, his writing invokes emotional investments in the men and women who worked toward this discovery. I shouldn’t need to explain how, as a writer myself, this impacts the way I look at the recollections I share. It’s not just about what happens, and what was learned, but most certainly the journey that brings us experience and knowledge.

All in all, reading is an integral part of being a writer and I am thrilled to have seen this prompt. Thank you so much for asking these questions and allowing me to share!

Reading wasn't a pastime of mine when I first came across his works two years ago; now, I've read all of his books several times.

I heard about his unique way of telling stories, and a friend dropped a copy off, so I decided to read.

Having read all of his novels, I am now working my way through his short stories.

I didn't write much before reading his books, so I suppose my writing style has been influenced by him.

If you've never heard of this author, I recommend trying a novel.

Kafka on the Shore, Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and The Wind-Up bird Chronicle are all good books to start with.