---Madeleine L'Engle
I spent the first week of 2016 organizing my Ebook collection into acceptable folders. I have hundreds of books that I still have to read, and I realized that I couldn't really deal with them in folders that read: next to read, Bev's next to read, September next to read...just to name a few. Daughter Beth spent her holiday break organizing her house and gave me the impetus to organize my books. I now have files for legal thrillers, political thrillers, memoirs, fiction, etc. Book lovers out there know exactly how rewarding that feels. My universe will continue to expand with each book that I read.
Actually, my universe is expanding with everything I do. As long as we keep learning, our world will seem new and exciting. When we are young, learning seems a chore. There are many more attractive ways to spend an evening than pouring over homework, yet in order to "get into that college of your choice," you must keep your grades up and study, study, study. Then we finally get into college, and there are even more wonderful ways to spend an evening, yet in order to "get that perfect job," you must continue to keep your grades up and study, study, study.
Then there are promotions to work towards and quotas to meet, and there never seems to be enough time to learn for the pure enjoyment of learning. I was a young mother when I decided to make time in my busy life for myself, and my pursuit of learning. I went back to college and took a couple of courses a semester in things I found interesting. There was no diploma riding on my grades, and no one was making me study. It was joyous! Art and I would have our "date nights" on the college campus, each enjoying classes we choose, and then we would go to a nearby restaurant and share all we had learned. I learned so many interesting things, and became a more interesting person because of it.
One thing that always interested me was family history, and I spent many hours sitting with my grandmother and hearing stories of her childhood. In his book, Finding Family: My Search For Roots and the Secrets in my DNA, Richard Hill shares his shock about finding out he was adopted. His doctor inadvertently let it slip when Richard was eighteen, and the history he always believed was his was suddenly changed. His subsequent search for a half-brother through genealogy is a wonderfully written story that made me smile and cry.
There were more smiles than tears in Dick Van Dykes memoir, Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging. He shares tips on living a happy life, and his anecdotes will keep you amused as he talks of a life well spent.
Now it is time for you to spend a few hours "learning." Grab a book, find a corner and have some fun.
As always, complete reviews follow this blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly