I love vacations. Beyond the usual fun and relaxation aspect, they allow me a wonderful opportunity to catch up on my reading. I’m currently enjoying south-west Colorado and several books have been keeping me company.
First up, Read for Your Life by Pat Williams. This one I started before vacation, but finished on the road trip out. I got a lot of teasing for this one, because apparently you can’t read books about books. But I love books about books. They remind me why I love reading, and why it’s so important to read. Read for Your Life did that for me, and thus I enjoyed it. I really liked some of the practical pointers given, such as committing to read an hour a day for the rest of your life. You may think that’s impossible with your busy schedule, but really how many hours a day do you find for TV viewing and surfing the web? Could you just sacrifice one of those hours for the enriching mental workout of reading? Also his quick “speed-reading” course was very nice. I’ve had such a mixed relationship with speed reading. I would love to read faster, but I find those courses just distract me from the book itself and I end up completely missing the plot. But Williams give just a few pointers, the most valuable I found was just to use your finger or a pen as a pointer as you read and not to regress needlessly. Using that tip I’ve found my reading speed has probably doubled, but I’m still enjoying the book I’m reading as much as I did before.
Second, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was surprisingly drawn into this story of a woman’s emotional recovery. I was a little leery after all the mixed reviews on amazon, but I found it fascinating. I really enjoyed watching Elizabeth go from a shattered person to a healthy happy human being by the end of her year’s travels. Her writing style is entertaining and engaging, even when she muses on topics like what makes our relationships work or fail, and discovering our spirituality. And who doesn’t love reading about Italy?
Third, A Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley. Robin McKinley was one of my all time favorite authors growing up. Although her books are classified as young adult, she doesn’t write for that group in particular. Her retellings of fairy tales appeal to adults as well. A Door in the Hedge is compilation of four short stories, which include the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses and the Princess and the Frog. As I was discussing the book with my husband (who also enjoys her work), I realized one of the reasons I love her work so much is that her characters are real. They may be surrounded by fantastic happenings but they themselves are real people with real emotions and reactions.
Yeah, for mountains and reading! I just re-read I Capture the Castle and I was thinking of reading The Blue Sword next. I’ll always appreciate you introducing me to Robin McKinley.