Reading and Doors

"We read to know we're not alone."

I was very blessed to have a mother who read to me. My first memory of the power of books is being held close in her arms while she read "Big Little Kitty" I loved that book and asked her to read it to me over and over again.

"Karen Kay was four and a whole lot more."

My next vivid memory of books was being given a beautifully bound and illustrated edition of "The Wind in the Willows" by my parents for my 7th birthday, which I still have and treasure. Many more gifts of books were to come from them over the years. If they or my sisters want to give me a gift, they know they cannot go wrong with a book.

I don't know if grade school teachers still read to their classes, but we were read to up through fifth grade.  Even one of my high school English teachers would read to us!

When the Kindle first came out, I scoffed at it.  How could anyone want to hold an electronic gadget when they could hold the real thing; smell the paper, feel the weight of the book, turn the pages.  But I must admit, even though it took me a couple of years to warm to the idea, I did succumb and there has been no looking back.  

I still have way too many of "the real thing" in my apartment -- and not enough book shelves to hold them all, but I have come to dearly love my e-reader, which now has over 2500 books on it. (I must admit I get a bit perturbed when there is a book I want to read and it is not available on the Kindle.  My how far I have come!)

I usually, insanely, have four or five books that I am reading at one time.  Talk about overload but I can't seem to help myself!

I am still rereading "The Hobbit" and "The Silmarillion". Of course, the Bible is part of my daily reading.  I am also reading two books about Abraham Lincoln, "Team of Rivals" and "Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness".  

I didn't really need to add anymore but I kept hearing about a certain book, how it must be made into a movie, and that Richard Armitage just has to play the lead character. So, of course, I had to find out what all the fuss was about.

The book I am referring to is entitled, "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness.  I am not overly fond of the witch and/or vampire genres and this has both, but I downloaded the sample on Sunday night and started to read. I got to the end of the sample, bought it, and at 2 AM forced myself to stop.  I continued the next day as soon as I got home from work and by 1 AM had completed it.

It is not the best book ever written, but it is a great read!  Probably what captivated me the most is that she weaves so much history into it.  Did I mention it's a trilogy?  So now I am reading the second one, much more slowly, especially since Ms. Harkness is still writing the third one.

It has been awhile since a book has been that engrossing to me.  Since finishing it on Monday night, the quote at the top of this post, "We read to know we're not alone" has been echoing through my mind.  Some attribute it to CS Lewis but I have read almost everything he has written and don't think he actually wrote it.  It was a line in the movie "Shadowlands" about CS Lewis and his wife Joy Davidson (starring the wonderful actor Sir Anthony Hopkins).  If you haven't seen it, add it to your list of must see movies.

Why do I read? Do I read to know I'm not alone?  Was it just a clever plot point in a movie that people grabbed onto without really giving it much thought?

Why do you read?

3 Gifts Behind a Door

Joy Dare: continuing to count 1000 Gifts

69. the refuge of  home

70. the quiet when the office door is shut at work, so I can work

71. the back door at home on the farm, even though I don't get to walk through it as much anymore

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."  

CS Lewis