Books

Jan. 10 2014
Friday

Went to see The Hobbit movie to day. The sets are magical and enchanting. I am amazed by the  paths thru the forests, the ruins of cities, the steps and bridges, the hair on Bilbos feet and that somewhere out there dwarfs and elves and fairies really exist. It is easy to imagine that different time and place where monster Orks live and trees talk. It all reminds me of the Avalon series by Bradley-books that I didn't want to end. Books like that are a treasure.

Reading was always an escape for me. My first book was in the 4th grade. "Shag". The story of a buffalo who survived a plains winter. And so it began. We did not have access then to a lot of books. I read anything- a comic book "The Swiss Family Robinson" and Superman comics and Grit newspapers and church books about "Danny Orliss". Not sure where they came from. When we moved to Willard, I got to go to the library every Saturday morning when we went to the Laundromat. Oh- I was in heaven. I read Nancy Drew and other mysteries, teen romances, Helen Kellers life and other life stories such as Lucretia Mott, Justin Morgan, and Julius Caesar. Then I moved on to "Katherine", Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney and To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Scarlet Letter, Lord of the Flies and Les Miserables for high school English class. When I started working, I joined Doubleday Book Club with 4 books free and 6 more to order in a year. I read Gone With the Wind which was a favorite for years. And many more-Deliverance, Far From the Madding Crowd, and Helter Skelter. I went thru a period of historical romances like Sweet Savage Love-who can forget the hot love scenes. Then I found Flannery OConnor, Kathleen Porter, Jane Smiley and Mary Shelley in college literature. I still went to the library and there I discovered Jesse Stuart who led me to a plethora of Kentucky and Appalachian literature. When I bought Pillars of the Earth and saw the size of the book- @700 pages-I was not sure if I was ready to tackle it. When I neared the end, I did not want it to stop. My new favorite book. Imagine my excitement when I found there was a sequel. Other books followed-The Red Tent, The Tall Woman and The Thirteenth Tale. Work and MS soon consumed my personal life. The fatigue and lack of focus hindered my reading. Now I still own my stacks of books and am unable to read because I cant stay focused longer than 2 sentences. I am optimistic tho- just ordered the new Lee Smith book and was able to read a set of 3 diaries written by Zephyr Hord Price who was born in Richmond Twp in the early 1900s. Records of her daily activities soothed my brain.

In a future writing-a list of books Ive read.
 Oh-my resolution from 2013 was to discontinue use of apostrophes.