MONSTER READING

I used to read A LOT of really high-level, highfalutin stuff, but usually at the end of the day, after staring at a computer screen, etc., the last thing I want to do is strain my eyes and brain trying to decipher something really serious. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have what can politely be called a "book problem." So this whole not reading "much" is slightly out of character.

I do read obsessively, however. I've just started what can be called a "saturation job" on weightlifting books and manga. The manga are my entertainment books. The lifting books are my practical books (but there is only so much someone can learn from a book--and I've kind of moved on from reading the books and implemented what they say). (Tell. Show. Do. Observe. Follow-up. How many folks are subject matter experts on stuff they never get out and try to master?) You won't accomplish jack holed-up in the cloister, is what I have discovered.  

I like manga because, duh, it has pictures and is easy on my eyes. Also, I enjoy how something totally dark and violent can be happening in manga, then there is some lighthearted comedy thrown in to keep it fresh. DeathNote is an example. I also am a total BLEACH freak. I know some of the purists out there hate on Bleach (the anime and the manga), and are aesthetic snobs. That's great. I just go with the stuff that I find pleasurable. External justification is not my bag.