Out of Practice

I set a goal to read 200 books this year not because I'm aiming high, but because I recognized that I had quit reading even a smidge of what I used to.  I have always been a voracious bookworm, devouring books the way some people do sweets.  As a child I would curl up with books that were meant for older kids and speed through them.  I never had a clue that I was a fast reader, simply that I liked reading and did it well.  G likes to watch me read sometimes because he says my eyes move quickly.  Never having recorded myself, I'll have to take his word for it.  I certainly am not a speed reader in the sense that I'm reading a page a second.  

And the first month of G being gone I didn't read too awful much.  I was too busy trying to keep busy, and unfortunately reading a whole book couldn't seem to hold my attention.  I've noticed that the more short pieces I read online the less attention span I have.  It's something I'm working on.  But this past week I dove into Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  It turned out to be a delicious book if I do say so myself, an interesting character study of a group of characters.  Then last night at about 9/10 I picked up The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square, another book set in the south.  I finished the last chapter upon waking this morning. 
 

Tonight I picked up the one that I knew would draw me in the most: Those Who Save Us, a book that flips between modern times and the time of Nazis.  I'm about 1/4 of the way through it and probably won't put it down until I'm finished.  So far, it's utterly fascinating and I'm only taking a break to pour another cup of coffee.  I think it's going to end up being worthy of a review.

Reading for me has always been a way to escape into a world or gain new knowledge.  In books like this one where history and fiction mingle I'm riveted.  The main characters are a German woman who is featured in the flashbacks and her daughter, a professor of German history who has no idea of her true origin.  She found a photo when she was younger of her mother, herself and an SS officer and has always thought that was her father.  I'm excited to see how she unravels the truth. 

So I'm back into the practice of getting lost in a book, and it is indeed as satisfying as it used to be.  Have you read anything fantastic lately?  Or perhaps have a favorite book you think everyone should read?