header

header

8.13.2008

Summer Read


Do you like a nice light read to pick up now and then in the summer? Um...maybe you should skip reading today...
As corny as it sounds, I watched an Oprah special in the spring about Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and, as usual, she made it irresistible to me. When I listen to someone talking about a book I become obsessed and must have it. I think about it until I read it and then do so voraciously. I actually try not to read because I'm too obsessive and nothing else gets done around here (I'm talking, no lunch, no laundry, no cleaning, just read, read, read!) It's my drug of choice.

I started Pillars the week we left for our camping trip and had it in my hand at all times. I carried it in my backpack during all those hikes I talked about, I packed it in a big ziplock during the canoe trip. I even set it next to the stove while I cooked. It's like crack to me.

Well, I finished all 973 pages in 7 days and was entranced the entire time. It has everything I look for in a book, murder, intrigue, unrequited love...I found it fascinating to read about everyday life in 12th century England and the process of building a wonderful cathedral. I was amazed at the corruption of the church and the lack of separation of church and state. The lives of nobility was as interesting as the lives of the peasants. I didn't want it to end, but alas, too soon it was over. I thought about it and mentioned it in conversation often and really, really cherished that book.

While visiting my mom this summer, I talked about it with my step-father and he told me it sounded like a book he'd loaned my husband to read over Christmas. Could it be?!? I went home and searched and lo and behold, I found World Without End part II set 200 years later!!! I couldn't believe my luck...Hubby, not so thrilled...


Same thing, only this time I obsessed at the beach and read everyday until my butt went numb. I turned page after page (1014 of them to be exact) and was just as drawn in as the first time. I can't say enough about these books, I love them more than any other 2000 pages I've ever read before. I wonder if there is part III hiding out there someplace?

3 comments:

  1. I am EXACTLY the same way!!!.....I can't read unless I know I can be uninterupted for huge periods of time!!!....and I hate that I read so hard and fast, because often I can't even remember what I read...I just have a warm cozy feeling....I read the Da Vinci Code on a trip to Florida a year ago...cover to cover with just a few bathroom breaks for 36 hours straight!!!!...I have never heard of these books...but I think I'll have to have them!!..a friend gave me The Other Bolyn Girl, and I'm afraid to start!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also read the first book this summer...Unlike you, I read at night, which is equally debilitating, because I stay up until all hours and am dog-tired and useless the next day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's been so long since I've read that book - I'll definitely have to pick it up again. I too drop everything to finish a good book - or a big puzzle! BTW, The Other Boleyn Girl was a great book too..

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think!

How to Avoid Stress At Work