Reading

Reading's always come easily for shayla. She taught herself when she was 4, slipping into her sister's (who was 7 at the time) school books and learning how to put the letters and words together. When she was older she'd browse through dictionaries, or her father's encyclopedias. Dad had subscriptions to a variety of magazines, and she grew up in between the pages of National Geographic (must ask Master about getting a subscription), Discover, Smithsonian, and Discover. The libraries at school were her haven. Tests were one of her preferred activities. She'd finish before most of the class, and spend the remainder of the time with her nose buried in a book. Most of her life she's been one of the more well-read people in her life.

Until about three years ago. Master's reading ability and history is tremendously greater than anyone shayla's come across. Shakespeare, Heinlein, various Greek tragedies, Sophocles, Twain. And that's just a sample. Even now, Master spends a good deal of time reading, either a book, or more likely devouring something (or many somethings) on the internet. And he remembers most of it (if not all). We have a few movies of Shakespearean plays, Hamlet, Henry V, a couple others. It's stirred miranda and shayla greatly when Master would quote, word for word, what a character would say, about 2 minutes before it happened. Either that, or pause the movie, and tell us some of the history and logic behind what was happening in the plays. Shayla's not certain what's more enjoyable, the movie, or listening to her Owner and what he has to say about it.

A fascinating learning experience, to put it mildly. Shayla's been exposed to a far greater variety of literature than she ever came across on her own. Oh, there've been some of the classics, a little Shakespeare, various sci-fi authors. But not on this scope. Master's got a list of books that he's wanting shayla and miranda both to read, though there are a number of others that aren't on that list. Some of them she's already read, some she's never even heard of.

What shayla used to believe would be boring is actually thought-provoking, very informative. She's just finishing Carl Sagan's 'The Dragons of Eden', a book on the development of human intelligence. And has just started The Iliad (yes, shayla's one of these people that will read two or three books at once). There's Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' and Shakespeare's plays that are both also calling her. Master's got boxes of books that she's not had a chance to delve into yet.

So in her service to him she's also slipping in a little reading here and there. A few pages during a meal, a chapter or so during breaks at work, a little as she goes to bed at night. It's wonderful. If only there were more hours during the day.

shayla