Winter Reading: January 2017…

Books have always provided great entertainment for me, as well as escape. I don’t know about you, but this January felt like the perfect time to climb into the pages of a book, hunker down, and hibernate. And I decided since my love for books extends far and wide and deep into my soul, I may as well share my thoughts right here. This won’t be a typical book review feature, though. Just a snippet of what I thought (or didn’t think) about whatever books made it to the top of my to-read heap.

I read seven books in January. Truth: Reading seven books in one month is not typical for me, so don’t expect February to be as productive. Unless I continue to hibernate. And I might.

About my “reading style”… 

• I often read two or three books at a time. At any given time I have ten or so books on my bedside table.
• Life’s too short to slog through books I don’t enjoy. If I really, really dislike it, I won’t finish it, and I won’t include it here.
• I know what it takes to write a book, and because of that, I’m not going to give someone a completely terrible review. Different strokes for different folks, right? I can always find positive things to say about everything I read (unless I can’t and then I won’t include it here.)
• Bookmarks make me happy. I don’t turn down the corners of my books to mark my spot (something I learned from Mr. Joyner, Rivercrest High School).
• Sometimes I write in the margins (something Mr. Joyner would frown on).
• I like to hold books (i.e. I rarely read electronic versions). I enjoy audio books, too, but miss holding the book and re-reading favorite passages.
• I re-read favorites especially classics and Newbery Award winners.
• I generally prefer the book over the movie. If the movie is coming out, I usually rush out and read the book first. But not always.

Here we go. My winter reading for January 2017…

Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk, by Kathleen Rooney

From her vintage mink coat to the way she truly engages with the people she meets, I want to be exactly like Lillian Boxfish when I’m eighty-five-years-old. Once the highest paid advertising woman in the world (pre-Mad Men era), Lillian is charming, witty, and hip for her age. She tells her story in naturally occurring flashbacks and stream of consciousness type thoughts as she walks around her beloved Manhattan on New Year’s Eve 1984. What a great (and timely) reminder of how we shouldn’t judge people by appearances. I was completely captivated by this story, more than a little annoyed I didn’t write it, and can’t wait for the movie. I imagine Dame Maggie Smith in the lead role. Of course.

This Book Made Me: research Margaret Fishback (the lady Lillian Boxfish is based upon); research the author for other books and writings; commit to walking even more each day than I already do.

Favorite Line: “If you love something, know that it will leave on a day you are far from ready.”Continue Reading