Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Andrew Santella, author of Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me, published by Del Rey books just last month.

Andrew has written for GQ, the NYT Book Review, Slate and Atlantic. He probably could have written more.

Soon is a book that will resonate with the vast majority of us. Because most of us are procrastinators. I know Andrew is one because he tells us and because he even postponed this interview and I know I am one because I am reading the last page of his book as I give this introduction.

The question is why do we not do what we should be doing and do something else instead or just lay in bed. For instance, while getting ready for this interview, I took off some time to read my email, look at my desk calendar and doodle in the margins, get up to get a sparkling water and rearrange my library. I even checked my bank balance and my Vanguard account, much to my dismay. (I wish I hadn’t). I then ordered new checks.

Well Andrew brings us a lot of information and more than a little bit of solace regarding our tendency to put off that which should be done.

We get lumped in with such great procrastinators like Charles Darwin, Leonardo Da Vinci Frank Lloyd Wright. Many of these guys and women have done great things while they put off that which they had intended to do.

We learn about St. Expedite and his shrine in New Orleans, a shine that we have to wait for since it took so long for Mr. Santella to get there.

Even St. Augustine gets into the act.