Saturday, November 20, 2021

Books, people that write them, and people who share them

 Among the blogs I follow is one from an Arkansas author, Talya Tate Boerner.  Her blog is Grace, Grits, and Gardening.   I fell in love with the main character in her book The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee and began following her blog.  The thing I most enjoy about her blog is a list of what she's read each month; she is an avid reader, and many of the books she features sound as if they are right up my alley.  In listing her October reads, she mentioned one by author Kent Haruf, the third book in a trilogy.  It piqued my interest, so I decided to read all three of the books of the trilogy in order.  Turns out these stories are custom-made for me.  I began with Plainsong, fell in love with the characters, and later checked it out for Cliff on his iPad; then I checked out Eventide, which continues the story, but with added characters, for myself.  All of these take place in a small-town, rural setting in Colorado, and I feel I'm living right there with them.  This author, Kent Haruf, died several years ago, so once I read the third book, that will be the last time I get to commune with these very real (to me) characters.  He did write other books, though, besides those three.  I'll be paying more attention to this author's book reviews from now on!  

I have also gotten a lot of ideas for books to read from a blogger friend in Washington state, a retired teacher who has a list of her recent reads on the right-hand side of her blog.  Sometimes a follower of this blog will leave a comment recommending a book they've loved, and I have read some of those.

I read a lot more in winter than any other time.  Thank God for the free Public Library, and that through the miracle of the Internet, this non-driver can check out free, best-selling books for myself and Cliff while sitting in my easy chair.  It's especially good for Cliff, since the only actual type of exercise he can do regularly is to ride on the recumbent bike for half-an-hour a day: he reads while he's pedaling to make the time pass.  Being able to get free books immediately from the library is of most miraculous blessings I know of, one I would never have dreamed of even twenty years ago.  And the library is the only free place to get the books recommended to me by people I know and trust.  

Like anything one uses every day, I often take the library for granted; but this is the Thanksgiving season, so I remind myself how fortunate I am to be living in such a time as this.

12 comments:

  1. I know that Washington State blogger! ;) I haven't kept a very up to date reading list except for Book Club, but I try to talk about excellent books in my posts. Have you read Kent Haruf's "Our Souls at Night?" That one about killed me. Great book, but very emotional. I'm using my library much more these days. Now that I don't have Dad to share my books with.

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    1. No, that author is totally new to me! But I'm sure I will end up reading everything he's written.

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  2. If you want something Christmasy & light to read, see if your library has "Christmas Crisis: A Garden Girls Cozy Mystery Novel" by Hope Callaghan. I love her books & I think you will too! ~Andrea xoxoxo

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    1. I hate to tell you this, but I'm pretty much of a Scrooge about Christmas. I think it goes with the winter depression I've had all my adult life.

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  3. I'm like you on the delight of getting my books from the library delivered to my Kindle at the touch of a button. What an amazing service.

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  4. I love getting Kindle books from the library through my computer. Right now I can also put holds on books and pick them up to read to my grandson on FaceTime. The libraries in Hawaii require you to show your vaccination card and identification to enter which I really appreciate. I feel a lot safer knowing this. And yes, it's fabulous to get recommendations from bloggers!

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  5. I get murder mysteries from Amazon free on my Kindle because I have Amazon Prime. That about the only kind of novel I read. Mostly I read non fiction in hardback.

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    1. Mysteries are my favorite genre! Any recommendations?

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    2. I used to use Prime some for books, but any time I did a search for a particular book, they never had it. The library almost always has any book I want.

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  6. I prefer reading analog reading devices over digital reading devices. Fortunately, I always seem to have a pile of books to read so I never have a shortage. If someday in my future I finally run out of that pile, I do have a Kindle that I'll have to dust off and figure out how to check out books.

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    1. Digital is great for me because my husband doesn't have to take me to the library that way; in the past, rather than bother him, I just didn't read anything. Also, I don't read small print very well, and in a reading device I can change the size of the font. AND... If I want to know the definition of a word, I hold my finger on the word and get the definition, just like that. And an ipad can lay in my lap, so the arthritis in my wrists doesn't hurt as it would holding a book.

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  7. can't imagine life without a book to read. loved your post. HAPPY Thanksgiving.

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