I need a book I can fall in love with.
You know the kind I mean. The kind of book you smile shyly at the first time you meet it. The kind of book you take from the shelf with hope shining in your eyes. The kind of book whose pages you smooth with careful hands as you begin.
And then when you begin to read, you fall...and fall hard. Head over heels. You drink deep, lost in delight as you turn the pages, and you barely want to come up for air. When you finally finish, you feel bereft, but it's the kind of bereft you feel after saying good-bye to a dear friend whose company is a total treasure.
That's the kind of book I need right now.
See, I'm tired. All week I've either been sick or taking care of someone sick (a kind of nasty stomach bug with fevers, aches, and general yukiness hit first me, then the sweet girl). I've been grading a mountain of papers. We're under the worst financial stress we've ever been under (and that's saying a lot). I've not really been out of the post-industrial town that time forgot for...oh, let's see...seven months. D. is working three jobs, bless him, and hardly ever here. And I am beginning to feel like if I fold one more piece of laundry, I might scream.
So you see, I need a really good book. An LOTR, Emma, Harry Potter, Guernsey, Til We Have Faces, Severed Wasp sort of book, or a really awesome biography/riveting non-fiction kind of book. The kind of book I can fall head over heels for and not come up for air for a while.
I've had high hopes about a handful of things I've gotten from the library recently, and while they've been just fine, have in fact been good books I've enjoyed (Lauren Winner's Still, P.D. James' Death Comes to Pemberley) they've not been books that make me want to burn the dinner while I keep reading.
I know one person's love is not necessarily another person's love, but I'd still love to hear what books you've fallen for!
7 comments:
A book that I loved and read several times many years ago is Journey by Robert and Suzanne Massie. Their first child, a son, was born with hemophilia. Bob and Suzanne each wrote their own story in alternating chapters. Bob researched the disease and its treatments and tried to solve the problem of the disease and the finances involved. Suzanne wrote of the stress and pain of a mother. I especially enjoyed her chapters as she told of how she deeply immersed herself in studying Russian among other things to escape from the stress. Also so many people along the way shared their pain and gave them comfort. This book was published in 1973 and my copy was from 1986 and included updates of the family. I have since seen more information of the family on the internet. This is a lovely book that I think you could be swept up into.
stumbled across this blog, and thought i would put my two cents in. i loved the historian by elizabeth kostova. i read this book before the vampire novel craze (i might not have read it after), but this is a book that is really about history and family. i also really enjoyed the maisie dobbs mystery series--i like a crime novel that's not too heavy, but deals with serious issues. hope you find a good book to lift the spirits.
Oh, I love those kinds of books. I read a few of those last year... Trying to get in reading gear this year. Haven't really read too much. But boy, when those come along, they are wonderful, aren't they? And such a beautiful way to describe them.
readerforlife, I appreciate the suggestion! Sounds like a very interesting read. More and more, I am coming to love good non-fiction.
Christina, sounds interesting! I will have to check out Maisie Dobbs too -- I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries.
Erin, aren't books wonderful? Since posting this, I've gotten more into a non-fiction book on literature and a great collection of poetry. :) So glad there's a never-ending pile of wonderful stuff to read...
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