I was 20 minutes into my workout the other day when I overheard the following banter between two men on the stationary bikes:

"Are you watching Martha Stewart again? Or are you waiting on Dr. Phil?"

"I don't watch Dr. Phil. He can't teach me how to make brownies the way Martha does."

Then the fellow on the stair-climber next to me, turns and said,  "How can you read on this thng?"

"Keeps me from getting bored," I replied.

"I heard that multi-tasking weakens one's brain," he said.

"Really?" I said. "And all this time I was blaming everything on menopause."

I don't do word puzzles because I have never understood the relationship between numbers and letters. Besides I don't want to get in the routine of counting the number of letters in the words i use. It would just be another obsessive thing that would likely distract me from really writing.

So, instead, I read books. All sorts of books. Right now on my bedside table are several books I'm reading:

Land O' Goshen by Charles McNair, an imaginative tale with southern gothic roots. There's Jesus, guns, abusurdity, and more than one memorable character. But you can't buy this book. I found mine at the local library. They've become collector items.

The Ragmuffin Gospel  by Brennan Manning. He won't tell you how to make brownies either but Brennan speaks plainly about God.

The Shack. Number one of the NYT Bestseller List for weeks now,  The Shack is a terrfic example of the power of readers. This book was rejected numerous times  by reputable publishers -- and rightly so. The writing has lowly beginnings. The strength of The Shack isn't in the writing, but in the story itself and its capacity to reveal some universal truths  -- chiefly,  our linear misconceptions about God and the world in which we live. People passing this book to their friends and loved ones has propelled it to the NYT list.

In Constant Prayer by Robert Benson. Now Benson is a writer who probably spends his spare time working the NYTimes word puzzles. He's bright, articulate and I've found this book -- about the role of liturgy in prayer and worship -- a fascinating read. 

What about you? What's on your bedside table? When do you read? Or are you downstairs making Martha Stewart's brownies?