It is said (at least by me) that book review editors come out of the womb reading. Everyone here does it so much that it’s easy to forget it’s a skill, a way to inform and entertain ourselves, more than a cheap illegal substance. I know I was taking reading for granted last week when I caught a nasty cold/sinus infection that had me in bed for the better part of two days. After the first day, my fever broke, and I was ready for some stimulation. I deemed the TV too glaring on my eyes, which were still watering from the sinus pressure. So I reached for my stack of bedside books on the floor and fished out the galley of Chris Salewicz’s Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer (May, Faber & Faber).

As I said in my blog “Staying Alive a la Biography,” this is a book I’ve been waiting on for years. Oh, the deep, dark secrets it promises to reveal about the late Clash singer and songwriter. What really went awry between him and “Jonesy” (guitarist Mick Jones)? How did he meet his first wife, Gaby Salter? And what was with that short-lived acting career in Jim Jarmusch films? Unfortunately, I was not about to get any answers. I didn’t think it was possible for me not to be able to read—I dream about reading—but literary dung happens. I stared at the same page for several minutes, focusing and wiping my gushing eyes until I chucked the galley on the floor.

The lesson, boys and girls? Read truly, madly, and deeply when you’re well. And wash your hands to keep evil-doing germs at bay. That is all.