Storm of Thoughts

Shelves Filled with Books

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to attend BookExpo America. The event, held at the Javits Center in New York City, was long (it continued for four days), huge (if I had to guess, I’d say there were about, oh, 2 million exhibitors), and really wonderful. With panels and discussions, autograph signings and author events, attendees from all aspects of the business, and plenty of free books, it was really the perfect place for any book lover to spend the weekend.

I traveled with my colleague, an avid reader (to the point where I don’t know how she gets anything else done), and we started talking about our favorite books. We agreed, of course, that trying to pick one favorite book is an impossible task, so instead starting making lists. Hers included old classics like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and more recent favorites like The Time Traveler’s Wife.

For me, my favorites range over the course of different time periods. As a child, for example, books like Where the Wild Things Are and the Alexander books by Judith Viorst always stand out. A little later, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (and the rest of the Judy Blume series) quickly filled my shelves. In middle school, my favorite book quickly became The Outsiders, which I read several times, and it was in high school that I fell in love with favorites like The Great Gatsby and Emma. (Who doesn’t love a good Jane Austen novel?) These days, I’ll read all kinds of books, although some of my favorites, just like when I was younger, are series, including those by Dennis Lehane, Janet Evanovich, and Harlan Coben. There’s something about knowing that you’ll have a chance to continue on with the characters you’ve grown to love.

Unfortunately, busy work days and weekends spent traveling don’t always leave much time for reading. (Unless you happen to be that colleague of mine.) But now? Well now it is almost summer. Days might still involve work, and some weekends will surely include travel, but, somehow, summer days are more patient. Extra hours meant only for leisurely reading somehow find you - and, sometimes, even entire afternoons. Book piles on shelves can be read as quickly as they can fill up. (Which is a good thing, since after my return from New York, my shelves are a bit more full.) And quiet moments spent reading start to remind you of all of the other summers filled with stories, from those of a child with picture books to the high schooler with next year’s required reading.

What do you like to read? What books have stuck with you over the years?

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The Joy of Hobbies

“Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” Dale Carnegie - American lecturer

Hobbies are a wonderful thing. Even though sometimes you think you don’t have enough time to devote to them, they are always there waiting for you to come back to. I’ve decided you can have too many hobbies, and also, you can have too few. My beloved father-in-law, who passed away in January, (see Chrissy’s posts dated Jan. 6 and Jan. 9) really only had one, fishing. Now, fishing is a GREAT hobby, both relaxing and social. (More on fishing on another day) But, you’re dependent on many factors beyond your control. It could be one of your hobbies, but not your only one.

Photography is a great hobby, one that so many people have gotten into with the whole digital camera revolution. I love photography, and you would be hard pressed to find me without my camera wherever I go. My cousin Irene knits. Our moms taught us both how to knit and crochet when we were kids, and even though we both had the basics, it just didn’t call to us when we were young. But a couple of years ago, Irene decided to get back into it. she makes the most beautiful and intricate sweaters! She made me a pair of socks for Christmas that are so comfortable and she made me this gorgeous handbag! Chrissy and I have tried talking her into selling them, but she doesn’t want to make the same thing all the time. And then too, you know what will happen, it will no longer be a hobby, it’ll be a JOB.

Cooking and baking are great hobbies. Of course, there could be some difference of opinion here. You HAVE to eat, so is it actually a hobby?

Reading is really one of the most wonderful hobbies. It is probably my favorite. You can pick it up or put it down easily, you can take it with you wherever you go and it can take you many places, or teach you whatever you want to learn.

Another hobby I enjoy is glasswork. I used to do stained glass. However, over the years I have developed a little dexterity problem, and now instead of stained glass, I do mosaics. I’m working on a fish mosaic to hang in our just being built guest cabin in Maryland. I was having a tough time deciding on a background because I didn’t want to take away from the fish itself, as I had done once before using sea glass. While I was searching around and looking at the talented mosaic artists out there, I came upon Berta Sergeant and her gorgeous tempered glass mosaics. I was ecstatic! It was just the solution I needed. I wrote to her, and she generously offered me instructions on how to use it, and where to get it. (It wasn’t as easy to get as I thought!) If you’d like to check out Berta’s work, look her up at either www.northwestmosaics.com or www.flickr.com/photos/mosaickid I will forever be grateful.

Here is what I’ve been working on. I figure I’ll be finished with it around the same time as the cabin, in May!

I’m sure you will all miss Chrissy this week, as will I. I will let you know when she and Pete arrive in Turks and Caicos, so you won’t have to worry……… I mean wonder.

Till next time……. Luci

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The Not-So-Simple Joy of a Book

I had the unique opportunity to talk with Mary Steenburgen this past weekend as part of an interview for Mom Central. And she said something that really struck me: that we need to encourage children to read, because, whereas a movie is the fulfillment of someone else’s imagination, when we read, we cast our own characters, design our own sets, and create our own costumes. There’s no limit to what we can imagine it to be.

How eloquently true. That is exactly the reason that movies are usually not nearly as good as the books they are based upon. Even an amazing movie with great actors, an incredible script, wonderful music, and a beautiful location can’t live up to what we had imagined. (This is also the reason to always read the book first!) One of my favorite books growing up was The Outsiders. The movie is great too, but nothing compares to the book, and every time I read it (which was often!), new things would occur to me like hidden treasures that can only be uncovered by a third or fourth read.

This is also a large part of the reason that I have always loved to read. When books come alive, it’s just as entertaining as any video game or television show. (Something too many kids today don’t understand.) And a love of reading is something that starts early and remains with you forever. As Meg Ryan said in You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your life does.”

What was your favorite childhood book?

(Note: This was the only reading-related photo I could find on my computer at the moment. As you can see, Pete also loves to read. Although he is apparently not as thrilled about having his photo taken while doing it.)

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