Forget the 
groundhog! You don’t need a rodent to tell you that winter’s got a firm grip on the U.S. Like everyone else, I’d be thrilled to have warm winds and long sunlit days but it’s not to be. The upside of howling winds and darkness is the pull of a comfy chair and lots of good books. How apt that February is Love of Reading Month.
For the last several years we’ve been listening to the ongoing debates about the merits of ebooks versus paper books versus audiobooks. The times definitely are a’changin’ and the publishing world along with it. After the noise died down readers recognized that there is a time and place for each of these versions. There really is a time and place for all. And I have to admit, my suitcases are lighter when my reading mix includes ebooks.
When I travel I try to cram new sights and experiences into every moment of the trip. And every trip includes a visit to a local bookstore, and two on a recent trip to New Orleans. Readers of some of the most popular social e-news sites, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed.com, Travel+Leisure, among others, routinely feature independent bookstores in all their glory from the four corners of the world. Even the airlines see the destination value in these local gems as this piece in the American Airlines/American Eagle magazine shows.
And when I’m home, I still travel. Nothing transports like a good book! First stop: my childhood. My comfy place is the reading chair of my childhood. Every evening my mother read the local paper sitting in this chair. That image and example she set helped create the reader I am today.
Sharing my love of reading with friends really enhances the experience. Today’s reading “vacation” was spending the day with a friend at a day-long seminar, Reading Your Way to a Well-Educated Mind, at the Smithsonian. Susan Wise Bauer provided a wonderful framework for purposefully reading, be it the classics or current titles. 
Whether the book is in hand, percolating in my thoughts, or part of a conversation, reading is interwoven throughout the fabric of my life. Stay warm and read!
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