The weather has been perfect for the past couple of days. It’s made my morning walk much more enjoyable. For a few days there, it was so hot I was really struggling. Today, my last day of vacation, I did my weekday meal prep which included making chicken salad, cubing cheese, bagging grapes etc. I spent most of the rest of the day doing exactly what one should do on a perfect, last-day-of-vacation Sunday; sitting on my deck with a good book.
I’m not sure when I developed a love of reading. I was fortunate to have a lot of women in my life that read to me, or took me to the library as a child. Thank you Grandma Walters and Aunt Diane! My mom is also an avid reader. She’s been a member of the Mystery Book Club for as long as I can remember. There’s a giant wall of built-ins in the family room that have always been filled with books. When I was little, the lower cabinets held toys, but I think they’re completely filled with books today. It’s amazing when you think about it, especially considering all the books she’s given me and others. Hell. I just took six books home last week when I visited! I have even dubbed one of the rooms in our new house, “The Library”. Before we moved I donated multiple boxes of books. For me, there are some books I read once and although I enjoy them, I’m not attached to them. Then there are others I would never part with. If I kept them all, I’d need a bigger house!
When I think back to some of the first novels I read, I think of authors like Judy Blume and Paula Danzinger who were popular authors of books for young girls when I was a kid. Perhaps those books are still popular today? I think the first ‘adult’ book I read was one of the James Bond series. I remember being obsessed with James Bond movies and discovering that my mom had the entire Ian Fleming collection. I know that I must have also snatched my first Ed McBain 87th Precinct novel from her collection at some point. (I was fortunate enough to get to meet him at a book signing when I was in my early 20’s). I also went through a huge Stephen King phase in my teens and twenties. Other phases include Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice, Iris Johannsen, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Dresden Files, Game of Thrones, Lorien Legacies, J.D. Robb series, Infernal Devices and dozens of others.
My favorite book? It’s hard to choose just one. I guess I would have to say “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss. It makes me a little angry to choose that one because this book is supposedly the first of a series of three. The sad thing is that much like the Game of Thrones series, the books became incredibly popular and the author has never finished book three. It’s maddening. The other book that comes to mind is “The Long Walk” by Stephen King. This isn’t a particularly well-known King book, but it is the first one of his I ever read and I fell in love. It’s actually written under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. It’s not a horror story, and unlike most King books, it’s under 300 pages.
What am I reading right now you ask? The Michael Bennett series by James Patterson. Loving it!
