Looks like I may be snowbound in the morning. Even if I’m not, I have no intentions of leaving the house. Tomorrow will be a day just to relax and maybe do a little reading for myself. I don’t have, or maybe it’s truer to say that I don’t take, the time to read anything just for the pure enjoyment of reading. It’s become a chore to read and that’s a shame.

Yesterday, I made it to the book store. Maybe I should back up a little. Last week I went to the local Barnes & Noble for attend an A.G. Howard book signing for Ensnared. While I waited for the signing to start, I browsed the selection available, and I found The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I have to admit I’ve watched the movie but I never read the books. The horror!

Also catching my eye was a book by Guy Consolmagno, SJ* and Paul Mueller, SJ entitled Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? …and Other Observations from the Astronomer’s In-box at the Vatican Observatory. I’ve come across Br. Consolmagno on several science shows on Discovery. I have always found what he has to say to be illuminating.

As a lover of fiction and fantasy, I knew I needed to buy The Hitchhiker’s Guide…, but as a Catholic myself, and one that has an interest in science, Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? also piqued my interest. At the time, I didn’t have any money to spare, and the little money I couldn’t spare was spent buying a copy of Ensnared to be signed.

Which brings me to yesterday. I had some time to burn, so I went back to B&N to browse and kill some time. I found The Hitchhiker’s Guide..., and I decided to buy it. I chose to wait until payday to the other book, but I had to buy a second book, reasonably priced. Since I’ve been wanting a new copy of it, I bought myself The Hobbit.

I’m almost done with Douglas Adams’ novel. I’ll probably finish it tonight. I may or may not read The Hobbit. I’ve read it so many times already. I do have other books on my too read pile so I have plenty to read, regardless. Either way, I plan to enjoy my day off and allow myself to disappear into another world for a few hours. It’s a nice way to get out of my own skin and into an adventure, all without leaving the comforts of home.

Now that I think about it, that sounds rather Hobbitish, and perhaps that’s not a bad thing. But I do have a rather Tookish desire for real adventure, just not enough to brave the cold and the snow.

*Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits.