I’m sitting
in a hotel dining room writing this morning, and the area is half-full of
high-school kids. Girls in dresses and boys in shirts and ties. I don’t know
who they are or what they’re doing, though I assume it’s church-related. They
make me ache with how beautiful they are and how fast they will grow up. I hope
they’re happy. I hope they grow up responsible and productive and smart, too,
but mostly...God, I hope they’re happy.
Sometimes, it
seems I go months without reading something that resonates with me. There’s
nothing wrong with the books that keep stacking up on my Kindle, but they don’t
latch onto a piece of my heart and refuse to let go. I don’t carry the Kindle
into the bathroom with me, read it in the kitchen while I’m waiting for cookies
to come out of the oven, or ignore my own work to finish just one more chapter.
I don’t know what causes these dry spells, but I wish they’d go away.
But when
there is a good book, one that makes me stop everything else so I can live in
the pages as long as they last, it’s such a gift, such a thing of beauty. And
always over too soon. This is why, unlike many people I know, I reread my
favorites. It still goes too fast, but when I do this, I feel again the way I
felt when I read the book the first time. I am back at my own prom. Our dating
days are numbered by prom time and it really isn’t that much fun, but for that
night we’re both beautiful.
Sitting in a crowd at the long table, they
lapse into near-silence, scrolling on their phones or gazing sleepily into
their own thoughts. I feel lucky this morning, seeing them all together. As if
on cue they start laughing and talking again, their voices rising and ebbing. I
think of my grandboys in their tuxes, of all the girls in their shiny, swirly
dresses and it’s...oh, I don’t know what it’s like.
Yes, I do.
It’s like reading a good book. It’s all joy and perception and shiny, swirly
prose. Oh, it makes me grateful. For books and teenagers and hotel dining
rooms.
How about
you? Read any good books lately?
Liz, Thank you so much for your kind words about Carry Her Heart! And I do know what you mean! I think all writers feel doubts about their writing. It's so hard to see a story in your head and do it justice on the page. I love the images in your blurbs!
ReplyDeleteHolly
Thanks for coming by, Holly!
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ReplyDeleteI haven't read CHH yet, but it's on my Kindle...I just have to get through this next deadline which is - gasp - sneaking up on me again!
ReplyDeleteA week or so ago I read Joanne Rock's Nights Under the Tennessee Stars and..gah. I could blather on for a thousand words but I'll sum up: the characters captured me and their situation made me laugh and cry...it was everything I want from a book. If you haven't picked it up, go get it!
Thanks for the kind words, Liz. I'm at that point with the WIP that I'm too close to see the holes...but I do love it. :D PS: i shared with you...now it's your turn! :D :D :D
I'll get the Joanne Rock book. I've heard great things about her, but haven't read any of hers yet. Her sister-in-law Karen Rock is a Heartwarming author--I enjoy her work (and her; she's nice!) too.
DeleteJust finished RELUCTANTLY CHARMED by Ellie O'Neal. Loved it! Kind of an Irish paranormal version of Bridget Jones' Diary. And it has fairies! Sort of.
ReplyDeleteSounds fun, Mary!
DeleteI'm reading the first Harry Potter book right now--you convinced me, okay? I'm actually reading the print copy, which I bought at Half Price Books and I'm really enjoying the book as well as turning the paper pages. It's been a while since I've done that. ;-) I love seeing the prom pictures that folks are posting. Prom has changed a lot since I went too many years ago.
ReplyDeleteI think HP books are best read in print. I'm glad you like him.
DeleteLiz, One of the books I love to re-read is your book "One More Summer." I love traveling through Grace and Dillon's story and every time I read it I cry at the same parts, even though I know what is coming. Will we ever get Steven's story? A new book and author I found (this is not romance) is "Angel Killer" by Andrew Mayne. The main character is from a family of magicians but she left the family business behind to become an FBI agent. Thanks to everyone for the recommendations on new books and authors to read!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carolyn! Steven's story is done--just searching for a home. I hope it finds it soon. :-( I love the premise of the book you're reading!
DeleteI can so relate to your thoughts today! I'm celebrating a request from a Harlequin editor based on my first chapter and synopsis entered in a contest. For the contest, I had written a couple of new starts but I didn't like them (typical of me). I found a beginning I had abandoned and decided it wasn't too bad. (This never happens to me!) Guess the editor agreed. I'm loving the incentive to finish it.
ReplyDeleteHave you read a Harlequin Heartwarming book I enjoyed recently? "A Fine Year for Love" by Catherine Lanigan has an Indiana winery setting. Indiana is my home state, the book's cover is pretty, the writing evokes beautiful images and the language flows well. The "Sideways" movie made wine a favorite romantic topic for me. lol The next in the series is out this month and anticipating a book can be a lovely thing!
Good luck on the Harlequin book, Cathy!
DeleteOh, Cathy, good luck! I'm so proud of you!
DeleteI'm at the midway point in Catherine's book (I read way too many at one time anymore--sometimes I have to backtrack when I go back to a book), and I'm with you on the setting--I like it, too. Catherine is a nice person right along with it.
I really enjoyed this post. Good books and proms--a fun combination.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judith. As is usual, the post wasn't at all what I intended to write. I do entire books that way, too. :-)
DeleteI'm getting pumped for the new Jurassic World by rereading Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Plus, I'm also reading Lani Diane Rich's Wish You Were Here.
ReplyDeleteI have Carry Her Heart on my Kindle, so I'll probably start that one after I'm done. Plus, that Reluctantly Charmed that Mary suggested sounds awesome. Wish list it.
I love your eclecticity! Did I just coin a new word?
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