Mind Blogging. Mind Boggling.

You pick the characters, you pick the book. The witty, the wise, the charming, the scheming; nobody reads.

I am reading "The Big Sleep" starring noir detective hero Philip Marlowe. And this is not much of a spoiler- Philip Marlowe does not read anything. There is no mention of him having read anything. He could have picked up an Arthur Conan Doyle maybe to sharpen his skills, or he could have done so on a dull day to inspire himself to reach for the professional heights which Mr. Sherlock Holmes reached in his day.      

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. George Smiley. Consummate professional. Master spy. Possessor of abundant wisdom. And nowhere, despite much of the book being a soliloquy, is he reading. There's a small part in the beginning where he is carrying a book by a German author (Grimmelshausen, I just opened up the TTSS), but that's for his wife Ann.    

Harry Potter, say. In all their years we watched them so closely, I don't remember our chaps doing any extra curricular reading apart from an illustrated book on magical creatures and another illustrated book on Quidditch. Lord of the Rings. Living on the edge as they do, where do our gallant heroes have the time for reading?

Saleem Sinai, in Midnight's Children. Col. Mike Martin, in Fist of God, Ikon and the Afghan. The sisters in Atonement, and the Captain. Nobody. A welcome change is "Kalle" Blomkvist in the Millennium series. He reads quite a bit of Swedish detective fiction.

In the fantasy genre, what fantasy would those guys be reading? The Lannisters and the Starks, of Song of Ice and Fire fame, they have seen people coming back from the dead, fire breathing dragons, massive wolves, and all kinds of miracles. So, what fantasy would they themselves read? That's a good angle to explore. Bran Stark, when he is sitting injured in bed (that happens very early, not much of a spoiler), is reading the bestselling fantasy book of his time. And, the story unfolds..the recursion would call for some imagination, and could make for a good tale.  

Given that we want to get under the skin of the character and relate to him or her, the character should appreciate our efforts to get to know him, and he/she can do that by indulging in a bit of the same. I have spend a considerable portion of my wakeful hours reading, and I want some of these people to do that too.

And I would finish with one of the few tracts of poetry which I can quote, one of my grandpop's favorites:

Books, a dull and endless strife..
..
One impulse from a vernal wood,
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and good,
Than all the sages can.

-William Wordsworth