An outstanding read

 

 

 "How many books that you read do you find outstanding?" My husband was dressed to go for a walk on a cold Sunday morning not sure if the dog would want to walk to the lake, tennis court or farm.

I was still in bed reading when he asked. 

I tally the number of pages I read, partially out of curiosity, but if I'm thinking about getting a book by a prolific author, I can make sure I hadn't read it, two or three years before. I read 30,000+ pages a year: fiction, non-fiction, politics, biography, history but mostly fiction.

"Enjoyable," I told him. I think most of the books I read as enjoyable. I like it when I feel the characters are real. I'm living with them, wherever they may be. I can smell what they cook for dinner, share their worries, celebrate their accomplishments.

I also think about the structure of the novel, short chapters, long chapters, mixed. Told chronologically or in flashback. How does the writer  manipulate the language. I'm more apt to find a sentence outstanding than an entire book. 

So many times, even if the ending is perfect, I miss the characters when I finish.

Reading non fiction is different. I'm learning something or sometimes confirming what I already know. At times, I'm surprised about how wrong I was about this or that person or event. 

I read pop writers such as Alexander McCall Smith, Jody Piccoult, the late Maeve Binchey. I will read anything Margaret Atwood has written even a grocery list if if were available. 

Because I live in France and Switzerland and even with the English Library in Geneva, and without the wonderful bookstores of my old stomping grounds in Harvard Square, I'm left with less choice.

I'm thrilled that old phone booths are now dropping off places for gently-read books including a few English ones. I will often pick up one only because it is in English.  I've found a few treasures. I will also sometimes pick up a French novel but it has to be fascinating.

So what about outstanding?

As a child I loved Summer at Buckhorn, about five city children enjoying the freedom of a farm.

As an adult John Irving's The World According to Garp and a Prayer for Owen Meaning have for decades been my favorites. So much so, I did my masters thesis on repeated symbolism in Irving. The MFA was in creative writing from Glamorgan University in Wales.

Other books such as Grapes of Wrath, I would call outstanding. Very seldom do I reread a book, but that is one I've read more than once.

I think poet Rita Dove said, "Reading lets you live other lives." She wasn't the only one to express that thought. I found some more.

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." — Richard Steele                                             

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," Jojen

"The man who never reads lives only once." ― George R.R. Martin                                                   

"Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are." - Mason Cooley  

Sometimes when I'm homesick for Boston, I'll read a book set there. Robert B. Parker was great for that. Other writers take me to my loved Scotland. These are voyages without the hassle of packing or airports, although enhanced by the memories of my time there.

Outstanding? A few. Enjoyable 99% of the books I read.

The artwork above is by Lori de Boer, the talented artist from Colorado who illustrated my novel Day Care Moms. She captured my idea of happiness, several books left to read maybe with a good cup of tea.