Day Nine: Favorite Things-Books

My Recent Picks from the Library

“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

A book is a treasure chest waiting to be opened, or maybe a treasure map itself.  It is an invitation for a journey somewhere unknown, largely created by our imagination. When we open a book we are bound to meet ourselves in it somewhere.  In truth and in fiction, one can find versions of ourselves we never even knew existed and ones we have longed to become.  We see paths not taken, some filling us with regret, some with the sigh of thankful relief.

Reading has been a life long pleasure, encouraged at an early age from a Mother and Grandfather who read much.  While my brother and I shared many books lined up on a little black hand-painted bookcase, the first books that were all mine were the Laura Ingles Wilder series. This was the first time I can think of that I found myself, or a self that I wanted to explore inside the pages of a book. And while the past few years I have not read as much as years previous, books and the magic inside them still fill me with delight.  A day at the library or bookstore, perusing shelf after shelf, picking up a book here and there and seeing which ones speak to me is my idea of a perfect day.  

The books in the picture above are ones I picked out this month at the library:  Kaleidoscope, Born to Run, Project Renewment, Powerhunch, and Crossing the Unknown Sea. I am almost finished with Born to Run (highly recommended if you are a runner or not-it is a thrill of a read) and about half way through Kaleidoscope. The book on Intuition is next on my list.

Currently my favorite types of books are historical fiction, autobiographies, books on the natural world, poetry, shared books between friends, and books about whatever subject I currently find passionately interesting. 


What types of books do you like to read?  Do you have any recommendations?