Read This

First, hello to my new readers who have found me through the magic of the internet. It's good to hear from you!

Now, on to my subject for the day...

I've been thinking a lot about reading lately, because it's something that I really enjoy and don't get to do too much of. Some days I feel that I will burst if I don't get to fill my head with someone else's ideas and I scan my shelves for a book - any book- that I have read fewer than three times. You see, I'm a re-reader. I have read some books more than twenty times each. I use reading in much the same way I used to use music - to invoke a mood, a feeling, to bring me back to a good place. I'll read a favorite passage here, a funny scene there, and feel better about life. But, as much as I like re-reading, there are moments when I yearn for something not as familiar. Since I rarely peruse the library these days I'm stuck with my limited at-home library. The other day I picked up a book I haven't read for a couple years and read it over again. It was fantastic. I remember thinking it was good, but it was better than I remembered it.

It's a book my friend Mendy sent to me some years back. One year we exchanged books for our birthdays I think. (Side note: No one is to feel offended if they have never received a birthday book from me. I'm not proud of it, but I never remember birthdays now and haven't for quite some time. Mendy can attest to the fact that this book is the only birthday present she's ever gotten from me.) I sent her "At Home in Mitford", which is a fabulous curl-up-on-a-rainy-day-for-a-cozy-read book/series, and she sent me "A Woman Of Independent Means", which is a fabulous book. I highly recommend it for all who have not read it, especially Sara as it deals with some husband management issues and wifely concerns that I think are timely, even though it takes place two generations ago.

I'm currently reading a recommendation of Rachel's: L.M. Montgomery's "The Blue Castle". I just got it at the library today (being in Logan I can go places like that by myself. It's super). I can't imagine not having read it, since I thought I had covered all Lucy Maude's territory years ago. This book does seem vaguely familiar, but so far it's new enough to make me wonder if I've read it or not. Either way, it is great. I plan to read several of the books recommended from all of you...as soon as I get the time!