reading

The Excitement–and the Mess–Build

Lynette M Burrows

There’s a lot going on at my house and the excitement—and the mess—build. Soon they will crescendo at nearly the same time. My hubby gets to come home this week and at the end of the week, I will be appearing at the Longview Literary Festival in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The Festival is free and runs from 10 am to 5 pm, Friday, October 26th. I’d say I’m cleaning house in preparation for hubby coming home but that’s not exactly true. Take a look. Preparations My dining room has been converted to a workshop, staging area, and collections point. I wanted to do a little something special for my sales table at the Festival. And being the overachiever whose OCD kicks in at every opportunity, things got a little out of hand. Yup, those are two of my too-curious-for-their-own-good dogs in the crate in the lower right corner. They caused a couple of paint mishaps that could have been disastrous. Don’t worry. They will only be in there for a few more minutes. The product I’m using to paint the styrofoam head drys quickly. Have I gone overboard? Definitely. Is it worth it? It’s been fun, stressful, and fun. Of […]

20 Reasons Why You Love Reading Dystopian Novels

Lynette M Burrows

Dystopian novels are very popular these days. Have you thought about why they are so popular? Why do we choose to be entertained by dark worlds where it’s kill or be killed? I have pondered those questions. In my research, I didn’t go to the psychiatrists and academic sites to find out why. I went to the readers. 20 Reasons Why We Love Dystopian Novels They feel honest because we know politicians, military people, and corporate moguls are capable of doing awful things. Dictatorship, revolution, and counterrevolution usually cause severe physical and psychological damage to the victims and other participants.  We admire the best dystopian novels because they’re written well and depict people we can relate to. It fascinates us how some characters react bravely and some react cowardly or with resignation to the terrible situations they face. As readers, we rubberneck to see the misery; we can’t avert our eyes even as we’re enraged by what despots and other vicious officials are doing to citizens. We wonder if rebels and other members of the populace can somehow remake a wretched society into something more positive. The questions of who will survive and who won’t keep us reading.  We might […]

A Book Is A Dream

Lynette M Burrows

Everyone dreams. Not everyone remembers their dreams, but everyone dreams for most of each night. And everyone knows what a dream is. It’s those images and sensations and emotions that blur together while we sleep. It’s involuntary. But approximately 51% of people have at least one lucid dream. In lucid dreams, the dreamers are aware they’re having a dream and may have some control over the dream. If 51% have lucid dreams, 49% of people do not. Or do they? According to Neil Gaiman, a book is a dream that you hold in your hand. Is it really? Our Body While Dreaming To understand the real-life parallels between dreaming and reading, one must first understand dreaming. Most dreams occur during what doctors call REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The visual and illogical basis of the dreams appears to help us solve some problems. Normal dreaming also appears to lower stress levels. Your body undergoes many changes during sleep. Your brain is active, your eyes move rapidly(hence the name), your limbic system responds (it’s what controls emotions), and you go through a state of sleep paralysis. Yes, for a brief period you are unable to move your arms or legs. It’s […]