My Book Addiction and Reviews

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In case I haven’t told you before now, I am a bookaholic. I’m also a sugarholic, but that’s another story. However, there is something that the two have in common. The sweetness of both reading and savoring a piece of chocolate draws me in. I have a very difficult time leaving them behind. The more I read good books or eat sweets, the more I want them. I work hard on my sugar addiction, trying to control my cravings. But I can’t seem to control my hunger for books, and since it isn’t affecting my life negatively, I don’t worry about it much.

Even as a kid, I loved books. The best days were those when I went to the library and chose two or three new ones to bring home. I lived inside their covers, following stories that I was sure were written just for me. These days, though, I want to own the book I’m reading in case I want to make notes in the margins. Books are companions that I want to keep nearby. If the book and I don’t connect then it goes in the box that I send off to the library book sale or give it to someone who might like it.

For the last couple of years my actual reading time was minimal, due to work on my own book and the plethora of other things I had to do. But the the stack of books by my bedside and on the bookcase across the room just kept growing taller. This past spring when my memoir was well on it’s way to publication, I slowly began taking one book at time and opening its pages, bathing in stories and language. At first I felt guilty for not “working.” Surely I should be doing laundry, filing away the stacks of papers in my studio, or unpacking a few boxes that still haven’t been emptied since our move here six years ago. But then I remembered that part of a writer’s work is to read.

Back when I was writing mostly poetry, the easiest way for me to get moving with my writing was to pick up a poetry book and read for at least thirty minutes if not an hour. At the end of that time, I’d be so inspired by the power of words and how they were put together, that I’d sit and write for hours. These days are no different. I get inspired by reading prose, whether it be fiction or nonfiction. And the stack of books I mentioned above is slowly, yes, slowly dwindling. I guess the slowness is because I keep adding one or two whenever I see ones that I MUST read. And there are plenty of those. The two books I’ve reviewed below are those that just recently took their places on the stack.

FASTEST THINGS ON WINGS, Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood, by Terry Masear, is a goodie. It is a thriller. Not in the sense that is has murderers or spies in it, but in the sense that I have always loved those tiny winged creatures, and wanted to know more about them. I was thrilled to learn about the mysterious lives of these pinky-sized wonders. This book, however, goes beyond the facts about one particular bird.  It also tells the story of a compassionate woman who gave her life over to saving the lives of thousands of hummingbirds. It’s about her special relationships with those who spent time recovering from near death under her care. I call it a “Thriller/Memoir.” I don’t think those who love nature, memoir, and especially birds, should miss this one. It’s a delight.

THINGS UNSAID, by Diana Y. Paul, is a novel that could be a memoir. It is the universal story of a dysfunctional family, how they tear each other apart, and how if not stopped, their instability could bleed down through generations to come. It is a story of the conflicts between a set of elderly parents, their three grown children, and their granddaughters. All of them soaking in the sour brine of relationships gone bad. In today’s world of Baby Boomers taking over the care of their aging parents, it’s a thoughtful tale we can all  learn from. Do we give our all to those who brought us into the world despite their toxic behaviors? Or do we need to let them go their own way in order to preserve our own lives and those of our children? Every caretaker story is different, but this one holds a bit of everything that could go wrong and then some. Highly recommended to me by several other She Writes Press authors, I found it hard to put down.

I’m still choosing which book to begin next. I used to split up my days reading two to three books at a time, but I can’t seem to do that anymore. My brain is telling me I can’t multitask anymore. So now only one book at a time has to do. At the moment I’m being drawn to The Art of Work, A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant To Do, by Jeff Goins. I think that being in my seventies, it’s high time I figure out what I want to do with my life. 🙂

Comments

  1. Reading keeps me sane. Even during our energy-sapping, bone-aching move I have had to read just to maintain a measure of balance. Tomorrow I’m posting a review on my blog. It’s a moving story but in a different era — with horse and carriage and a much younger woman.

    Thanks for the reviews here. We have a hummingbird feeder in our new back yard. Fastest Things on Wings would be a good counterpoint to The Hawk, which has its savage moments.

    • I hear you, Marian. There is nothing better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a good book and leaving the chaos of daily life behind.

      I also read Hawk and The Fastest Things on Wings is a great counterpoint to it.

  2. Joan — I L-O-V-E to read, too. I always have and always will. Physical books, Kindle books, books on CD. I devour them any way I can get them. I’m currently reading “Death Comes to Pemberley” by P.D. James.

    Excuse me, but I’ve got to dive back into the pages of my book…

  3. I’ve always loved to read, too. I don’t read as many books as I used to, but I still love it, and no matter how busy I am, and even if I only read a few pages before I got to sleep, I always have a book to read.

  4. Thanks for the reviews Joan! Keep them coming

  5. Thanks, Val. I plan on doing reviews at least once a month.

  6. You echo my book-addiction sentiments, Joan! I can’t bear to go very long in between reading books. I just started Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock after spending last week in her memoir classes at the IWWG Summer Conference. Fascinating. Thank you for these lovely reviews. We are surrounded by trees and birds and I love to sit on my front porch and listen to their warbles. I especially love to watch the hummingbirds in my flower garden.

    • Joan Rough says:

      Thanks Kathy. Yes, I too love to sit outside on my patio and listen to the birds. We have a cat so there are no feeders about. But the garden is in bloom and brings all kinds of songsters.