Pausing Life for a Good Read

Do you ever get sucked into a book? Have you experienced a day when all other tasks go to the wayside while you devour the text in front of you? Have you stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, bleary-eyed and immune to time, because you have to know what happens next?

Then you know what I am talking about.

Every once in awhile I go on binge readings. This is nothing new. I can remember nights during my childhood when I would hide under the covers with a flashlight to feed my reading habit, praying that my parents wouldn't notice the light seeping out from the crack under my door.

The past two days I've spent reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton. It certainly is a page turner. And turned the pages I have. My only awareness of time passing came from Michael's demands to nurse. On occasion I thought, man, this kid wants to eat every five minutes, to realize that two hours had passed since I last looked at the clock.

The final page has been turned.

And I have some new ideas to mull over. The whole story centers around the "global warming" hype and the repercussions of ideologue environmentalists. I found it a particularly interesting read in light of all the political developments on the topic these days. Has the State of Fear reached beyond the pages of Crichton's book into today's American society? I am beginning to wonder...