This week is my annual summer vacation (hip hip...hooray!). I am fortunate to be able to spend it looking out at the ocean, while following the sun in my beach chair with a book (or two...or three...) in hand. I look forward to this time every year. It is my favorite of all things. There is such simple, unabashed joy in having the warmth of the sun on my skin, the smell of the salt air & sunscreen around me, and a story to take me away to a place of rest and rejuvenation.
I stopped at the library on Monday to amass my vacation collection of books. I am not a bookstore person -- unless it is a resource-type book, like the yoga-related books I refer to over and over again or the cookbooks that I leaf through for inspiration or reminders. Ever since I was young, we always used the library. I have the mental image of my mom rubbing the cover of a book and reminding my brother and I that books and stories are meant to be treasured and shared. This sentiment stuck -- and stuck deeply. I prefer used books to new ones, and 9 times out of 10, I use the library. I love the smell of used bookstores & libraries -- a mix of paper, dust, oils from finger tips, and memories.
So, it was no coincidence that the first book I picked up this week at the library was The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. The protagonist, Sara, is a Swedish bibliophile who ventures to rural Iowa to meet her pen pal, Amy, and ultimately shares books with the residents of the small town of Broken Wheel. Sara's views on books were a sweet reminder of why I love books and reading :
"Books that had already been read were the best." (pg. 116)
I know people say they do not enjoy reading. I am not one of these people. I host a monthly dinner, where my friends and I share food, drink, & the books we are reading. We do not read the same books, or even genres sometimes, but we do share with each other. So this dialogue by Sara in The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend also stuck out to me:
" 'I could never read every single book myself. If someone else takes them, then at least they'll be appreciated. And if you love a book, you want to share it with others...There's always a person for every book. And a book for every person.' "(pg. 288)
Overall, I liked the easy-going nature of this book. A story of a woman who loves books and works to make her own story by sharing stories with others. What is there not to like about that?
Now that I've finished this first book, I'm now diving into The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack, which came as a recommendation. So far it is intriguing, but I'm only three chapters in. I'll let you know how it is. Have you read any of the others I picked up? Please let me know - you can contact me here or find me on Goodreads too.