things that amaze me: part 214

Former Spice Girl singer Victoria Beckham, wife of England football captain David, confessed she has never read a book, a newspaper said Sunday.

The confession is all the more startling given that it would appear to include her own autobiography, "Learning to Fly", and that of her husband, "My Side".

"I haven't read a book in my life. I haven't got enough time. I prefer to listen to music, although I do love fashion magazines," she was quoted as saying.

How can a person not read? I mean, yeah, sure, I can relate to those people saying, "I wish I got more time to read" or "lately I'm so tired that when I pick up a book I end up falling asleep". But how can someone 'not have read a book in their life'? More importantly, how do people not WANT to?

I love people who are well-read - not merely in the sense of being educated, but people who read because there's just so much out there to suck in and think about and discuss. I'm rather jealous of Tetchan, who somehow gets through at least four times as many books as I do. She always has some interesting thing to tell me that she found in a book. I often use her recommendations to decide what to read next. I love the fact that she doesn't just quote theories from a book like a socialite name-dropping to score points on someone else's celebrity. She can explain their theories but also step back to evaluate them and decide what her own opinion is.

I often wonder how many books Skywalker gets through, working at a secondhand bookshop as he does. I can't count the number of times I've bought a book that he's read and given me an opinion on, and he's obviously getting through a lot more than I bring to the counter. I think his love of books, and all that implies, is a big part of the reason I have such a crush on him. ^_^

As for Victoria Beckham...what on Earth is the woman doing with her time? I mean, we know she's not eating...