I’m posting this on the eve of the elections in the U.S., and unless you’ve just arrived on Earth you probably know all about it. There are A Lot of Feelings. Tensions are high. I’m not betting we’ll know the outcome right away, and I have no idea how messy things will get. I’m fortifying myself with books to get me through.
I’ve been reading books to remove me from my immediate realities since … well, since I learned to read and to use the library. If you ever visit and there’s no bookmarked stack of books in my bedroom or living room, call the sheriff. I like to read multiple books at once – are you one of those people? Or are you one book at a time, start to finish? Folks mostly seem to be one or the other. My current rotation: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, the Sea; Light Years by James Salter; Amor Towles’ Table for Two; Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea; Evan Connell’s Mrs. Bridge. (To be fair, some are being read more diligently than others.)
Thirty years ago, when I had two young kids and was desperate for adult conversation, a small group of us here started a book club, and we invited friends. Except for a break during COVID, that book club is still going. Two of us moved away, then moved back and rejoined. My housemate Carolyn is the newest member; others have come and gone. We are serious about our books in the best sense – everyone reads them, all book suggestions are considered, we’ve had lively discussions and disagreements. Over the decades we have also shared some profound joys and some terrible sorrows. I don’t think I have words to adequately express how much this group of women has meant to me. We take turns hosting and we also love to eat, so our monthly meetings start with some amazing potluck food and chit-chat, news sharing and hand-holding as needed.
I swap book recommendations (and sometimes the actual books) with old and new friends. And Carolyn and I are frequently sitting together in the living room in the evenings (her on the sofa, me in my chair) with our noses in books. As the child of bookish parents, growing up in a house jam-packed with books, I suppose this is a natural outcome. My parents and that house are long gone, but libraries and bookstores are second homes, places of refuge and quiet while traveling (and public libraries are free to enter and have nice restrooms, which has come in handy a number of times!)
Are books a constant in your life? Do you turn to them for knowledge, escapism, when you’re sad, or if the weather or illness keeps you indoors? What have you read recently that you loved? Do you do books with friends?
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I have always enjoyed books as well. I don’t read as many these days due to reading an enormous amount for work and my brain is tired after work; however, when I have time I love relaxing with a book. I generally read one at a time. Recently read The Housemaid and the 2nd book Housemaid’s Secret, now reading The Snow Child.
I’ve always loved to read. I usually read one book at a time. Sometimes two but not very often. I read in spurts. I read everything I can get my hands on for a while and then just stop or drastically slow down for a while. It works for me.
Yes, I have a house full of books and usually am reading more than one at any given time. More books than kindle, but both. Right now reading one about horses and how they changed human history as well as a Simenon.
Georges Simenon was a marvelous writer! He wrote 84 detective Jules Maigret novels (plus literally hundreds of others). He intentionally wrote them as short as possible “so people could read them in one sitting” if they wanted to. I found and was able to download them all to my tablet – read them all and wanted more.
I love books and have to stop myself from getting too many. If I had lotto winnings I think I’d be backing a U-Haul up to Powells and going hog wild. And yes, I read multiples; I have them all over the house, my office, and on kindle on my phone and iPad.
Books are definitely a big part of my life. I have always been a reader and enjoy libraries and bookstores as much, or more, than my perfume hobby. I even have my bachelor’s degree in English. I can honestly say books have helped get me through some really tough times, and I have found that losing myself in a book is more therapeutic than anything else I have tried. I have joined a book club, which broke up during the pandemic, but my alma mater has an online book group for alumni, so I can discuss books with them if I choose