Why does a gloomy day feel like the perfect time to curl up and read?  Don’t you love a good story at any time?  Bright days sitting in the sun, nearly dozing off? Stuffed into trains and planes, reading with a bunch of travelers around?  A half-hour on a lunch break, sitting in a car outside the office, unable to break free until you get to the end of a good part?

A dark, wet day calls for staying cocooned in warm blankets, snacks and beverages close at hand. Maybe you’ll doze off, maybe you’ll start tearing up or clutching the covers when the story takes you. You’ll be alone, undisturbed, and able to sink into to the story completely. That’s genuine surrender.

After the stormy night, the gloom settles over you from above like another layer of blankets. The wind drops and the clouds pile on heavier in the still air. Your blanket fort is dim, but the light diffusing though the wet air is just enough to read by. The rattle of the branches outside lulls you to into the dream of the story.