If you’re a constant reader, and carry a book wherever you go, you will not need to lift weights. That’s what I thought.  Walking, jogging, and calisthenics surely strengthen the muscles and improve flexibility, but it is not enough: I’ve sprained or strained my wrist while reading!

Do I need to lift weights? Honestly, I do have some pink 3-pound dumbbells – but that’s what reading Anna Karenina is for!  Two hours of reading Anna Karenina must be more than the equivalent of 5 minutes with the weights. Anyway, I hope so: I prefer my smooth, soft arms to the gym-induced muscles.

 Actors in old films seem more attractive than the perfectly-toned actors of today.  They are glamorous, but look softer somehow – should I use the word “real,” or “relatable”?   While watching a film about the space program in the 1960s, I noticed the crowd at a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral had that soft-limbed, approachable look. They were not glamorous: some wore polyester! Plaid shorts! Culottes! There was a different ethos then:  polyester freed our mothers and other housewives from ironing.  Of course I wore cotton and natural fabrics later, but I remember being decked out in a pink polyester minidress, fishnet stockings, and a white faux fur coat.  Not a natural fiber in the outfit!

This winter, I’m finally observing the effects of a “bookish” strained or sprained wrist. Holding up the hardcover of Middlemarch made one of my wrists ache.  I  switched to a paperback copy – still huge, but much lighter- and the ache is less noticeable.

Few hardbacks strain my wrist.  It’s those 900+-page books that are challenging. Fortunately, used paperbacks are a cheap alternative. 

Captain Nemo suggests that I should walk around carrying an Evelyn Waugh trilogy (bought second-hand on eBay ). It would be a challenging alternative to the three-pound pink dumbbells.  And hauling Dickens’ books, whether hardback or paperback, works up a sweat.

But I fear I’ll have to resort to the pink dumbbells. It’s inevitable.  Soon you’ll envy my biceps.  It should strengthen my wrists, too.

I need to apply heat or cold, or put on an Ace bandage on the wrist. I’d better look that up! Any suggestions?