The Joys and Woes of Being a Reader

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To say that I love to read isn't really true. To say that I have to read is more accurate. I've been this way since I was small. I bugged my mother to teach me how to read when I was four, and I've been fascinated by the written word ever since.

Reading has been a joy and a curse.

Through books I've traveled the world, and beyond. I've met fascinating people, witnessed amazing feats and fallen in and out of love more times than I can count. I know that the correct pronunciation of the Levitation Charm is Wingardium Leviosa, not Leviosa. (Thanks, Hermione!)

I know that hobbits have hairy feet and curly hair. That "real" vampires sparkle in the sunlight, that you really don't want to mess with Joe Pike or Jack Reacher or Harry Bosch. I know what the Deathly Hallows are and who Sethos really is.

History, real and imagined, has come to life before my eyes. My imagination has reveled in fictional accounts, and my perspective has been widened through non-fiction.

My taste in reading material is eclectic, to say the least. Fiction, non-fiction, good books, bad books, so-so books - I'll try them all, although bad books never get read through. I'm not that desperate! Life is too short to read bad books.

In addition to my reading addiction I am a very fast reader. This is not a good thing. I try to slow down, I really do, but it never works for long. I want the story to go on and on, but, alas, the last page is turned all too soon. That's why I like books with hundreds and hundreds of pages, like the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. It also helps if a book is at least a bit complex. I can read (and enjoy) a Spenser novel by the late Robert B. Parker in a few hours, but Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache books take awhile longer to digest.

Read my books over and over again. I cringe when I seek books used solely for decorative purposes. Make a lamp out of a stack of books? But I might want to read them sometime! I guess it's OK if they're copies, but still...

If you visited my house today, you would see why the above slogan is so appropriate. I will put down a book if I must, but I do it reluctantly. Who wants to scrub floors when the Orcs are about to attack Helms Deep? Or when Mr. Darcy is just about to say something profound to Miss Elizabeth Bennett? Or when the Volturi come calling? First things first, people!

My addiction is quite sad, really. In doctors' waiting rooms I was once reduced to reading poorly written brochures about obscure diseases, ancient copies of Field & Stream, even old Highlights, the children's magazine. (I almost always find all the hidden objects in the picture!)

Now that I have an iPad, I can take reading material with me. E-books are a wonderful convenience, but nothing can take the place holding a real book.

I admit I stopped reading long enough to write this post (although, technically, I'm reading as I write), but I really must find out what the Emersons are up to now. (See, the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.)

Characters, Readers Receive No Mercy from Author George R.R. Martin

The first four books of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice saga

When I read "Game of Thrones," the first novel in George R.R. Martin's five-book series, I knew there would be one startling development involving a major character. This was thanks to viewers' published comments regarding the HBO adaptation of the novel. I don't get HBO, so I was spared the visual enactment. But no one who reads these books gets off easy.

I used to wonder what it would be like to Scarlett O'Hara, or Jo March or Anne of Green Gables. They were pleasant fantasies. But, trust me, I wouldn't care to be any of Martin's characters. Noble or peasant; man, woman or child, good or evil - none of it matters to this bloodthirsty author.

Fortunately, Martin is such a skilled wordsmith that I was engrossed through the last word of the fourth book. Valor and honor receive short shrift at Martin's hands. Heroes are few in number and apt to meet a violent end. There's no cute little Hobbitt on a noble mission, although there is a dwarf who is almost likable at times.

Deception, greed, lust, and gruesome death are present on every page as kings and would-be-kings (and queens) battle for supremacy. Martin takes every sunny day and happy moment and drenches them in boiling oil. Heads and other limbs go flying when the reader least expects it, and screams echo on every page.

I don't know how many times I shook my head in disbelief and say, "He didn't! OMG!" Oh, yes, he did. And still I read on. And still Martin made me care for a character and lulled me into thinking they would be safe. Ha!

The fourth book was published in 2005, and left many story lines hanging. Now Martin has come out with the fifth volume, "A Dance with Dragons," and I'll have to buy it to see who gets the axe, literally, next. There are to be seven volumes by the time the last head rolls. I wonder if there will be anyone left.

These books are not for the faint of heart, but if you can stand the shock and gore, they are the epitome of epic fiction.

What I'm Reading

I've been a reader since I was four. It's almost an obsession with me. I break the cardinal rules of not reading while I eat; I even read when I'm watching TV, which used to drive my husband crazy! I'm also one of those weird people who read more than one book at a time.

So, without further ado, here's what I'm reading now:

Bantam Books

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

There was a lot of hoopla when the fifth book of the series was recently published, and there's a series on HBO based on the books. I decided to see what all the fuss was about, so when I found the first four books in nice little bundle at Costco I put them in my cart.

I'm about halfway through the first book and I'm really enjoying it. There's a lot going on with a lot of characters, but not so many that it's hard to keep track. I had that trouble withe The Wheel of Time series by Richard Jordan, but I made it to Book Six before I got bogged down and didn't finish. I'll get back to it again someday, I'm sure.

Game of Thrones is a great tale of good vs. evil, how greed can overcome honor and how perceived enemies can turn out to be friends (and vice-versa).

There are noble and not-not-so-noble knights, a reluctant and increasingly unfit king, scheming queens and brave young boys and girls. It is violent, bloody and a bit risque in places, but the story barrels along and  keeps me eager to know what happens next.

The picture on the left shows the lovely origami bookmark cover I made all by myself.


Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier

Sun Dial Press - 1943 edition

This is an oldie but a goodie; I can't remember how I was when I first read it, but it was a long time ago. My mom probably introduced it to me.

Written by the famed author of the classic Rebecca, this swash-buckling novel contains none of the former's dark mystery and the heroine has a lot more spunk than did the wishy-washy companion who married the master of Manderley.

Both books were made into movies,

and neither is nearly as good as the book.

Frenchman's Creek is about a noble English woman who, bored and disgusted with the life she has led in London, leaves her husband behind and takes her children to their country home. There she meets an agreeable but mysterious manservant and discovers that a French pirate has been using her home as a place to escape when local landowners pursue his ship.

Lady and pirate meet, of course, and become the players in a wonderful tale of danger and deception. I highly recommend it.

Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
                                                               

HarperTorch

By now you may have gathered that I have very eclectic tastes when it comes to reading material. What can I say?

The other book I'm reading is about as far from romantic fantasy as you can get. The cover proclaims Prayers for Rain to be a “hard-boiled shocker,” and that pretty well sums it up. The language is a gritty as a Boston back alley, but I think it's appropriate here.

It's about Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, two Boston P.I.s with a murder to solve and Patrick's guilty conscience to assauge. Kenzie and Gennaro aer the protagonists in many of Lehane's other books, including Gone Baby Gone, which was made into a movie by Ben Affleck and featured his brother Casey as Patrick.

Prayers for Rain is a good yarn well-spun. I like the way Kenzie and Gennaro apply their own morality to their less-than-savory job.