Wednesday, March 30, 2011

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.  

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil - A Savannah Story
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. 
 
The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square
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.

Those Who Save Us
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?

9 comments:

  1. Hi, I hope you enjoy 'Those Who Save Us'. I read it a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. 2other books that I read recently that takes places during WWII is 'Sarah's Key', which is about the round up of the Jews in France and 'Winter Garden', which is about story about a Russian woman during the Seige of Leningrad. Both books also go back and forth between the present and the 1940s.

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  2. I love Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. What a captivating story. It's even been made inot a movie: what a disaster! Imagine my dissapointment when I settled in for a night of good entertainment to find out Billy was played by Jude Law among other things.

    On an off note: I'm doing a giveaway on my blog this week, pop over. I'm giving away some jeweller, so far no takers :-(

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  3. I loved Those Who Save Us, and the picture on the front is just the perfect book cover, don't you think?

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  4. Anonymous, those other books do sound good, I'll have to look for them!

    Missris, it really is the perfect cover. It's intriguing and ties into the story.

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  5. Coffeeaddict, yeah, I've been told by even a random stranger while I was drinking coffee and reading to not bother with the movie.

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  6. I read about 30 books a year, and I'm currently making my way through all the works of Shakespeare (my goal for 2011 - every single one of them!). Some good books I've ready lately are anything by Muriel Sparks, short stories by Dorothy Parker, and Balzac.

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  7. I just finished The Dragon Tattoo series, A Million Little Pieces and You Shall Know Our Velocity. All very good in my opinion!!! =) I will have to add yours to my ever growing book list. Eek!

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  8. I'm reading Patti Smith's Just Kids and thoroughly enjoying her chronicle of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and the New York City art and music scene of the '70s.

    As a working mom of two small kids I don't get the opportunity to read as much as I'd like to, but I manage to squeeze in some reading on my commute to/from work and sometimes at night. Though sometimes when I read before bed I find I can''t sleep because my mind is swirling with the characters and situations in the book. Does anybody else find this happens to them?

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  9. I read like you do, and how you said G likes to watch your eyes because they go so fast? Made me laugh because my husband does the same thing! I remember reading in college and noticing the sun coming up before I'd realize I had been reading all night. :) Try Blindness (Jose Saramago) if you are looking for an interesting (fictional) study on society.

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