Mis-Matched Table Settings

I think its important to read every single day. I know that sounds like something my daughter's Kindergarten teacher would say, but its true. I think too many non-readers get hung up on what they ought to be reading, instead of looking for something that suits them. I remember one of my graduate professors confessing that she reads EVERYTHING, including the backs of gum wrappers, and the license plate of the car ahead of her. I thought that was wonderful. Back then I rarely took the time to read things that didn't come pre-packaged in a glossy, carefully chosen cover. But I read gum wrappers now. And its worth it. Maybe some of you only read gum wrappers and license plates, and I think that is just fine too. The important thing about reading everyday is getting into someone else's universe and seeing things how they see things.

Sometimes what I read influences my whole day and mood, dinner menu, or interaction with my family. I love that.

This year I've been systematically reading every book written by Elizabeth Berg. I discovered her slowly, coming across her novels here and there over the past few years. But last January I suddenly put one of her books down and stared out the window thinking, "Yes. That is exactly how I feel too."

After that I had to read all of them. And surprisingly, I've found a small something of myself, my own life and struggles, and moments of happiness in every story. Berg writes about ordinary people trying to make sense of the strangeness in their lives: husbands and wives falling in and out of love, a single spinster choosing to have a baby so she doesn't miss out on motherhood, empty nesters trying to re-build a life without their children, and today I'm reading about how to help your best friend suck the final bits of marrow out of life before she dies of brain cancer.

Nice and cheery, I know. But the thing about these books is that I always, always feel inspired by the end, even when I feel angry, disapproving, or afraid for the characters somewhere in the middle. And Berg's characters are almost always people I wish could be my friends, leading fascinating interior lives. We give so much energy to small talk and niceties, I sometimes wonder, after reading Berg's stories, what is really going on inside the people I talk to everyday. What the furniture inside their brain looks like.

Today I read a dialogue between two women who were discussing table settings. One of them claimed that to buy all matching table settings is utterly boring. Who wants to look around the table and see the same thing? I loved that. Since I can't afford to run right out and buy a set of twelve place settings anyways, this idea appeals to me. I love window shopping for dishes. And next time I fall in love with a pattern, I'll buy two plates, or just a couple of soup bowls.

When I started this blog I decided to take my sweet time deciding on my "gadgets." I wanted to make sure they were meaningful, something my very own. So after reading about the mis-matched dishes idea, I thought a-ha! I'm going to create a gadget devoted to the small, random ideas that are not my own. Ideas that only came to me because I made time to read.