Monday Required Reading. It's been a couple of weeks since I got my act together and put one of these up. I don't know why. I've actually been reading more than ever lately. I decided to stop spending my breaks at work catching up on various social media on my phone and instead spend them reading like I used to. It's been glorious. So, today I encourage you to do the same. Take a break and, instead of checking emails and Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest (and Vine...what's the deal with this new app? Has anyone checked it out yet? What do you think?), read a story. It's a short one, so if you really need to check all those other things, you should still have time. I've shared a piece by Rachel Ball from elephantine before. This is a new one of hers, and I think it paints the most lovely word picture. Here's "Suddenly":

At first it sounded like tissue paper being crumpled, big sheets of it, and Zola wondered, Mama's wrapping presents? before remembering that her mother had gone out to the hairdresser and wouldn't be back until four that afternoon. Though she was alone in the house, she crept noiselessly down the stairs toward the living room. Once or twice she stopped and just listened. If she tried hard enough she could pick out the individual parts of the sound. Like...yes, there. One sharp pop. Then another and another, in quick succession, so that whey they were all strung together it sounded like a single unbroken sound. 

[KEEP READING]