Holidays Are for Reading

I’m going to start lying when people ask me what I’m doing for a holiday. If I answer honestly—that I’m going to sit on my patio, read a book, and enjoy the breeze, and when I’m done with that I’m going to sit on my couch and read a book, and then I’m going to go to bed and read a book—a lot of people seem to feel sorry for me.

“Oh,” someone sadly said to me this week, “that’s too bad you don’t have any fun plans for the Fourth of July.”

The truth is I would rather read than do just about any...