I am well acquainted with books. Sometimes I feel that I might drown in books. On my bedside table there is a stack—seven volumes high—waiting to be read. On the little table in the corner there is a motley collection, mostly books I have read and am not ready to discard or that I want to pass on to someone specific plus some I can’t bear to give away. On the floor is a bag of books ready to go to The Hope Chest or back to MICL (I’m rather selective about those). The book shelves in my room hold things I want to keep—travel books, Jay’s, Pam’s and Bev’s books, some language texts and references, and other miscellany. Any wonder I feel besieged?
That’s not to mention the floor-to-ceiling shelves upstairs, filled to bursting with travel albums, reference books, texts and who knows what else—family memoirs, children’s books, and junk. It needs editing badly… some day.
Many bring back memories. I read Herman Wouk’s Winds of War and War and Remembrance when I was in Mazatlan, Mexico. I traveled there with my sister-in-law, Eva. She was a nurse and was required to take periodic classes to keep her credentials current. One such class was offered in Mazatlan and she asked me to go with her. Of course I jumped at the chance. She had to attend a class each morning and I would sit around the hotel’s pool and read my books.
And what books they were. Read in tandem, and covering events that I was familiar with, I was completely captured. I have read since that War and Remembrance included the best description of modern-day sea battles anywhere. I agree, plus very interesting and believable characters. Both books are on my “best” list.
Another “best” is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. He never disappoints and I have read several of his excellent books. His depiction of life in the middle ages was fascinating, and it is hard to imagine getting excited about building a cathedral, but I did. I understand that he has recently written a continuation or companion book to Pillars which I plan to find and read just as soon as I can remember its name.
I read nearly all of Patrick O’Brian’s sea-faring sagas, beginning with Master and Commander to The Hundred Days. Talk about your swashbuckling adventure! Captain Jack Aubrey and his ship’s surgeon, Stephen Maturin, keep one’s interest riveted to every page, and there is so much information about the workings of a square-rigged sailing ship and early 19th century naval operations. These books carry a special memory for me. My son, Tim, and I read many of these books at the same time, trading them back and forth, discussing the characters and plots, equally enchanted. I remember that period of my reading life with special tenderness, especially since Tim is no longer with us.
Then there is The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver. This is a story about a Baptist preacher who moves his family of four young girls to the Congo to labor in the field. This is a wonderful glimpse into life in a native African village and how the girls adjust to it. I was completely wrapped up in it while I was reading it and for a long time after I finished it. This sent me on a search for Kingsolver books and I read several, but nothing came up to The Poisonwood Bible. It definitely is on the “best” list.
Always intrigued by mystery and detective novels, I was lent a book by Elizabeth George and I was off on another search, and could hardly wait until she added more. I ran into the courtroom stories by John Lescroart. A good friend of mine is a retired paralegal, and I knew she would enjoy such books. She loved them, and between the two of us we have obtained nearly everything he wrote. It’s always more fun to share reading adventures. Then there is J. A. Jance, whose books I devoured. She is still writing, but I like her early ones best. Some are based in Seattle and some in Arizona but her characters for all are wonderfully believable and likable.
I can’t stop without mentioning Tony Hillerman, whose books evoked the four-corner area and the Navajos so beautifully. I almost cried when I read of his death—I felt that I had lost a friend. One I found and read at a small informal lending library on a cruise ship, so now he carries double memories.
And there are many more—my three a week cover a lot of territory. Before my Alaskan cruise last summer I read several books by Dana Stabenow. Her protagonist is a native Aleut and her books are filled with tribal lore and descriptions of life in Alaska—perfect preparation for a trip there. I like books placed in places I’ve been. It’s a thrill to run across a reference to something familiar.
I haven’t mentioned my love affair with my Kindle. It’s so portable and easy to read and any book you might want is available. I have to admit that mostly I buy the 99 centers offered by Amazon. It’s a mixed bag and if I get one that doesn’t catch me, I don’t read it. I must have a dozen or so waiting in line for me to get to, but first…
I have to finish a trilogy by Diana Galbadon. They are imposing books, 800-plus pages each, and the story is split between 20th century England and 18th century Scotland, and I’m immersed in Clansmen and tartans, battles and country life, with a little rustic medicine thrown in. I’m fascinated by the story and characters, but I’m anxious to finish volume two (Dragonfly in Amber). The book is heavy and cumbersome, and I have others waiting in the wings. At least I’m down to my last 200 pages.
As you can see, I’m a book lover. Perhaps you are, too. What are your memorable favorites? Make a list!
Peggy Lewis, the mother of A News Cafe.com contributor Jon Lewis, has been a student at the Modesto Institute for Continued Learning since 1983. The institute is a program sponsored by the Modesto Junior College Division of Extended Education and is “designed for the mature adult student who seeks to experience learning for the joy of it.” She wrote this story as an assignment for MICL’s Writer’s Workshop and has graciously allowed A News Café.com to share it. Peggy celebrated her 94th birthday in February.
