Man in coffeeshop (reading my T-shirt): “Talk books to me.”
Me: “Yeah.”
MiC: “Are you a librarian?”
Me: “No, I just like to read.”
MiC (pauses a beat): “That’s a good habit to have.”
Me (but only to myself): “It’s what keeps me sane.”
Some part of me will never get used to the fact that so many people — even interesting, likable people — see reading as something that’s good for you, or that you do to be virtuous — rather than something you do because it’s fun, or to unwind, or because in the end it’s as instinctive as breathing, and so it never occurs to you not to do it.