I judge books by their covers — who doesn’t, really? I fell in love with this cover and the book has lived up to its promise. It makes the subject of these creepy things totally fascinating.

Sentences like this intrigue me, whether I understand the material or not: “Beetles consume everything—plants, animals, and their remains. Larvae and adults are found in the soil, where they function as tiny recycling machines that return organic materials to the soil, making them available again for use by plants and other animals.”

I see people reading everywhere—my method for gauging the state of publishing. My favorite sight is that of a person walking and reading at the same time (but somehow seeing people walking and texting just makes me feel sad).

Here’s another book cover I love, Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man. First few sentences: “I was leaning against the bar in a speakeasy on Fifth-second Street, waiting for Nora to finish her Christmas shopping, when a girl got up from the table where she had been sitting with three other people and came over to me.  She was small and blonde, and whether you looked at her face or at her body in powder-blue sports clothes, the result was satisfactory. “Aren’t you Nick Charles?” she asked.

I said: “Yes.”

Reading protects my brain by orienting my thinking to the long narrative, rather than scattering my concentration which is what happens when I spend time on social media. Following a good novel’s story path allows me to relax into a multi-layered tale that triggers feelings from the past and present, and challenges my mind to make sense of it all. I love that.

Some people love curling up with a Kindle, but I’m not one of them. I like a book I can slip into my bag, lend to a friend, keep on my bedside table, read when I have a moment in the early morning or late at night. And if I’m too tired to read, I can just gaze at the cover.