I have been asking everyone about the books they will be bringing to bed next week. I am always curious about what people are reading and I love to ask them why they are reading the books they have chosen. I used to find an author I liked and then read everything they wrote. I am much more haphazard now. I love going to the used bookstores in my neighborhood or even better, the big library and church book sales, and seeing what jumps out at me. Usually, I have an idea of what I am looking for -- a few years ago I had a Plato moment, followed by a brief Virgil interlude, and then on to Whitman, followed by Alice Munro. The books I bought and haven't had a chance to read are even more far flung, there's Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, and Break of Day and The Ripening Seed by Colette, and Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. I can hear you asking, who is this woman? And I am incredibly slow reader. Kristen got through A Moveable Feast and a huge Hemingway bio while I got through the very slim Letters from the Desert.

I used to write lists and cross off the books I read. Now, I just keep the lists. I love recommendations especially from people I consider to be voracious and adventurous readers. My friend Karen's father is one such reader. He is always reading something interesting and keeps lists of books he intends to read and/or to recommend on a slip of paper in his wallet that he carefully unfolds when he is ready to impart -- or add to -- his selections. His taste is so wide-ranging that he has earned the title of The Muse, which he has graciously accepted. His most recent recommendation is The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'Ambrosio.

So, what is your reading style? Do you read what jumps out at you or do have a list? Is there a Muse in your life? And, hey, what are you reading for Bring a Book to Bed Day!?