"The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them." ~Samuel Butlers
I read a J. D. Robb book this week, and it got me thinking. The book, Festive in Death, took place during the holiday season. Parties, gifts, shopping...all of the fun parts of December...were there for us to share. I realized, as I was reading, that authors don't just give us stories to read; they give us the ability to take part in worlds different then our own. It is fun to live a bit of someone else's life. I was never a soap opera fan, BUT for a few years when my children were little, and I was a stay at home mom, I became addicted to "Days of Our Lives". The story lines were pretty inane (for those of you who watched...exactly how old was Alice Horton supposed to be when she finally left after forty years of matriarchal duties?) but boy did I love the Christmas and Thanksgiving shows. I honestly felt like part of the family when we all trimmed the tree and roasted the turkey, and I loved being a Horton for a few days each year.
The escapism of a good book, or television show, no matter what the genre is what allows us to relax in a high stress world. To quote Frank Sinatra, "I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king" while reading my books through the years. The best thing about living these lives with my fictional friends is the knowledge that it will all work out okay...or I will just close the book and jump into another one.
The other book that I "jumped" into this week was Cosby: His Life and Times. It is an interesting peek into the life of Bill Cosby, who as Cliff Huxtable was the only gynecologist who ever made me laugh. This book describes the life of a young man who was determined to make something of himself. He failed several times in high school, dropped out in eleventh grade, and ended up getting his doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts. He grew up impossibly poor and ended up impressively rich. Most importantly, he grew up to be a role model for many young men from neighborhoods like the one he left behind. The book tells it like it is...the strengths and weaknesses of Cosby are evident. It brought me back to the days of The Bill Cosby Show, I Spy, and of course Fat Albert, and that was fun for a while.
Speaking of fun, we have begun planning our October vacation to Paris. We have never been to France, and I am so excited. We are taking a two day side trip to Amsterdam, and I figure between the nine hour plane trip each way (to Paris) and four hour train trip each way (Amsterdam) I will be able to keep up with my reading. I also picture myself, Arthur and our kindles relaxing on the bank of the Seine with a basket of croissants, baguettes, brioche and any bread I happened to have forgotten. Yummy!
On that note, I will go make myself some lunch, sit in front of the lake here and read for a bit.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
I read a J. D. Robb book this week, and it got me thinking. The book, Festive in Death, took place during the holiday season. Parties, gifts, shopping...all of the fun parts of December...were there for us to share. I realized, as I was reading, that authors don't just give us stories to read; they give us the ability to take part in worlds different then our own. It is fun to live a bit of someone else's life. I was never a soap opera fan, BUT for a few years when my children were little, and I was a stay at home mom, I became addicted to "Days of Our Lives". The story lines were pretty inane (for those of you who watched...exactly how old was Alice Horton supposed to be when she finally left after forty years of matriarchal duties?) but boy did I love the Christmas and Thanksgiving shows. I honestly felt like part of the family when we all trimmed the tree and roasted the turkey, and I loved being a Horton for a few days each year.
The escapism of a good book, or television show, no matter what the genre is what allows us to relax in a high stress world. To quote Frank Sinatra, "I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king" while reading my books through the years. The best thing about living these lives with my fictional friends is the knowledge that it will all work out okay...or I will just close the book and jump into another one.
The other book that I "jumped" into this week was Cosby: His Life and Times. It is an interesting peek into the life of Bill Cosby, who as Cliff Huxtable was the only gynecologist who ever made me laugh. This book describes the life of a young man who was determined to make something of himself. He failed several times in high school, dropped out in eleventh grade, and ended up getting his doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts. He grew up impossibly poor and ended up impressively rich. Most importantly, he grew up to be a role model for many young men from neighborhoods like the one he left behind. The book tells it like it is...the strengths and weaknesses of Cosby are evident. It brought me back to the days of The Bill Cosby Show, I Spy, and of course Fat Albert, and that was fun for a while.
Speaking of fun, we have begun planning our October vacation to Paris. We have never been to France, and I am so excited. We are taking a two day side trip to Amsterdam, and I figure between the nine hour plane trip each way (to Paris) and four hour train trip each way (Amsterdam) I will be able to keep up with my reading. I also picture myself, Arthur and our kindles relaxing on the bank of the Seine with a basket of croissants, baguettes, brioche and any bread I happened to have forgotten. Yummy!
On that note, I will go make myself some lunch, sit in front of the lake here and read for a bit.
Happy reading,
- Beverly
Click on the book cover to order the title mentioned in today's blog:
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