Nothing besides family brings me as much happiness as curling up with a good book. Summer, Winter, Spring, or Fall, I love to read. I loved it as a child, staying up late with a flashlight, finishing a whole book in one night, re-reading my favorites, like "Anne of Green Gables" many times over.
English class was an adventure for me, being introduced to classics, and exploring challenging books with fascinating meanings and lessons. I loved dissecting the hidden meanings, symbolism, and plot twists.
As a young mother I pretty much gave up reading, for my own entertainment and pleasure. I read with my children at every opportunity, enjoying their joy & pleasure in children's stories, and the comfort they found in the repetition of their favorites. I had "Little Miss Spider", "Everywhere Babies", "Fancy Nancy", & "Felicity Wishes" memorized.
When my kids went back to school, I picked up reading again...voraciously. I can easily read a book a week, losing all track of time, space, and human interaction, burying my nose in pretty much anything with pages and a cover.
That's not to say I'm not discriminating. I won't read just anything, and I stick to my standards. I really love to read from all genres, as well. I've enjoyed a Dickens phase, a Tolkien phase, a Fantasy phase, a Period Romance phase, and a History phase. Mostly concurrently. I love recommendations from friends and family, belong to a book club, and keep a "to-read" list on my phone, as well as a Good-Reads profile. I really hate to lose titles that have piqued my interest, before I have a chance to read them.
Here are a few of my recent favorites:
A couple years ago I read "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake", by Aimee Bender. The main character has the ability to taste the emotions of her mother in her cooking. As a mother I was fascinated! And horrified at the implications! I couldn't stop reading it, and as it developed I was ever more intrigued. By the time I finished, I called my sister-in-law and begged her to read it fast so I could talk to someone about it! I love books with unexpected endings.
I just finished this book last week: "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson. My mom recommended it highly, to me and my brother. She said it was crazy funny. It is about a man who leaves his nursing home on his 100th birthday and begins a crazy adventure. As the book progresses, however, you realize that this is basically par-for-the-course for Allan Karlsson, who over the course of his 100 years, has lived through every major world crisis from the Bolshevik Revolution to the Cold War and beyond. The dry humor had me laughing from start to finish, and also reading passages to my husband, who willingly listened, and even laughed along sometimes. Thanks, dear, you're a good sport.
I have a penchant for non-fiction literature. "One Summer" by Bill Bryson was an entertaining and fascinating read. History is fascinating with all it's twists, turns, and when looked at as a whole is amazingly intricate. Truth truly is stranger than fiction. The book related events happening in and around 1927, and it reveals that this one summer was hugely important and changed the face of America. Bryson writes about the nature of Americans at this period of history, daring, reckless, adventurous, and unstoppable, on top of the world. He finds the humor in every story and makes reading history superbly entertaining.
The most recent epic fantasy book I've loved is "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson. A writer from BYU, he is known for his intricate and involved universes. I find the books intriguing and fascinating, stepping out of the world of rules we know, and into another place. The series will be upwards of 10 books. At two years per book, and being only finished with two books, I'll be an old granny by the time the series is complete. Ugh. If you're looking for a completed series in the same epic fantasy genre, "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan is also a fantastic read. Thirteen books, totally done. In fact, the last two books were basically written by Brandon Sanderson, because Jordan died before he could finish. Hmm. I really enjoy both of these collections.
Call me a nerd, I can totally handle it.
Hopefully these have given you some good ideas. If you have any recommendations, leave a comment. I'm always on the hunt for my next good read.
Happy reading!
