Books to read

Have you ever been too tired to even do the things you *like* to do?
It seems I am running these days that way a lot lately. (And that sounds very grammatically incorrect.) (and I don't care.)
Too many items on the need-to-do list. So many distractions from getting them done. And then I have my wish-I-could-do list that sits waiting for me to cross just one item off.

I did however find time for a few minutes of reading in these past weeks.

I wish you could see my nightstand. It has a lovely stack of books, already read, waiting to be put away (that's another on the to-do list)
About a month ago, I was given the book, "The Help." I did not see the movie, and did not know too much about it, but I had heard it had great reviews. So I gave it a try. And I was mesmerized. I did not want to put that book down! I made myself stop so I could get some sleep. But my nightly ritual of reading for a few minutes before sleep became reading-for-more-than-a-few-minutes before sleep. The characters are so real. And the whole culture of the story - two races caught up in the before-civil-rights-movement in the south - that culture is so foreign to me. At least I thought it was until I really began to think about it, after having read the whole story. In Oregon we have a different race that we deal with, and I find I do have prejudices against "them" as a whole. Not the individuals I deal with, but the no-name stranger on the street who I can easily label and dislike based on what they look like.
But that isn't why I liked the book. No, the book was so well done, that I felt I was there, a part of the story going on. I don't know if I want to see the movie, it might just ruin it all. But the book, I highly recommend it.

Also on my nightstand are two books I am currently reading. Yes, at the same time. "A Town Like Alice" - very intriguing also. It is hard to describe just what it is about, I'm only about 1/3 of the way into it. But it seems to be about women prisoners-of-war back in WWII. Except they were not in a prison camp. I don't find it easy to put down, once again, because the situation is unlike anything I have ever experienced. And the characters ... I want to get to know them and see where they are going with this story. It's an old book, from a box my sister-in-law passed on to us - but I think it is one I will encourage my older kids to read.

And another one of the nightstand, James Herriot's "All Things Great and Small". I read this series, (about a small town vet in England) back in high school, and college, and again after graduating. But I never tire of it. I enjoyed the TV show they made from it, but, like most stories, the books are so much better. These will definitely be on the kids' bookshelves for years to come.

And finally, one more book is waiting for me to crack it open. This one is recommended by my dear husband. He read it back in junior high and thoroughly loved it. I heard the name and never picked it up. I know, amazing, but .... Have you read "Where the Red Fern Grows"? Yeah, I am going to read it. I promised him I would. But it might not be until winter when there is more time, less sunlight, more cozy-by-the-fire book days.

How about you? What's on your reading list/ nightstand these days?

Comments

  1. Where the Red Fern Grows was one of my kidhood favorites. Enjoy, and keep the kleenex handy. ;)

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  2. Do see the movie. I saw it first, then read the book. Now I want to rent the movie again. Having lived in the south - and a husband who was brought up there gives me a different perspective too. But not having been brought up in the south, I can't relate to a lot of it. But like you, we have a different race problem here.

    Marilyn

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