"Your Money's Never Wasted on a Book"

  Your money's never wasted on a book. My dad always used to say that and for the most part I'd agree.  Though there are a couple I would have liked to have had my money back -- but they came from the library and for some inexplicable reason they don't do refunds.  In any event, during this period of hibernation quite a few people seem to be taking up reading. And why not? Well, the kids are tearing down the drapes and the dog's peeing on the floor, and the husband's yelling at the tee-vee because his guy's losing at competitive rock skipping,* but those are just annoying interruptions. The truth is once you've seen everything Netflix has to offer, and joining another streaming service seems a bit over the top, what's a person to do for entertainment? Pick up a good book, of course.

  A friend of mine just posted her reading pile on Facebook and I had to let her know she was underachieving. She is still working so I tried to cut her some slack, but really, anything under twenty volumes is not a fulsome collection. My pile grows, and since I am cut off from the library, I shop the used book websites to see what bargains I can find. I bought 6 books yesterday for $9.49. Unfortunately the postage was on the north side of $20.00 -- but I support the USPS and they need the money. 

  Nothing beats the library book sale -- but that ain't happening for awhile. No social distancing there as we bookworms have been known to end up rolling around on the floor clutching at the same copy of The Gold Finch.  It was only $1.00 and my dog ate mine, so I really wanted to buy that sucker. I thought I could take my competition, I had her outweighed for sure. However,she was small but mighty and almost broke my fingers in the tussle. My younger daughter saved the day by replacing what the dog ate with a new copy. Thank goodness! The beagle is a literary pup and the least I can say is she has good taste in snacks.

  Alas, even as the books stack up, I haven't had much time to read either, as work-from-home seems to favor my business. My referral partners keep on referring which is great. I don't know if it's just the way things are going this year or my referral partners are so glad they don't have to deal with me in person that they hope if they keep me  occupied I'll stay home forever.  No matter, my days are pretty full with earning a living, and before I know it, Friday rolls around and the only literary matter I've been able to peruse during the week is a bit of social media to see if anyone has posted a funny cat meme. Since Grumpy Cat passed most of the cat fare is pedestrian at best.

  The Pulitzer prizes came out today. I can't wait to see who won for fiction and non fiction. I always make it a point to read at least one Pulitzer book --  either winner or nominee every year. There seems to be a trend. People who win the Pulitzer know how to write -- in complete sentences even.

  When I was a kid I viewed reading like going on a trip. It was a way of seeing new places, some that don't exist.  Maybe that's where I got my distrust of maps. I never believe a place exists just because it's on a map, I have to see it with my own eyes. 

  Here's the thing --  if you are reading a good writer, you don't need a map.  A talented writer can take you from here to there with charming or suspenseful detours; paint a canvas on the page describing a place or a character that is as vivid as any photograph or painting. In my own serious writing I try to think of it like that -- to describe the scene and the action as a visual. Some attempts are better than others.  

  " AJ Fosse could best be described as average. He was of average height, weight, and looks. He wore his anonymity like a cloak, vanishing into any crowd without a trace. There was nothing remarkable about him at all.  He’d never given his mediocrity a second thought until he received notification of his twentieth high school class reunion two months ago. Since then his lack of accomplishment had become an unbearable burden."  

You see,  with the right words you can even paint a picture of an invisible man.  One of these days I will get around to finishing that story.

 I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to know that I always have a good book going, sometimes two. Right now I'm reading the latest Denise Mina mystery. She's a Scot and writes great detective books. I also like Tana French, an Irish author who writes about the Dublin Murder Squad. You might see a theme here. I love British detective television shows too. I keep waiting for new episodes of my favorites --but with Netflix you never know. They break my heart regularly when they decide nope, three season's enough.  But it isn't only mysteries that I like. I adore a good bloody historical novel. Try The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. I wouldn't say he's an overpowering writer, but he spins a good yarn. And if you can't bear the thought of reading through is it nine books now series? Netflix has it on video.It's full of violence, foul language, and gratuitous sex. In other words something for everyone.

Lately I have been going through the books I've read, thinning the herd so to speak. Some were novels that I read and reread every year.  But as I've watched the years roll by, I've come to the conclusion that using time to reread my old familiars is a luxury I can't afford. Terrific new authors continually publish new books and I MUST read them all. Or at least give it the old college try. So many books, so little time.

Some books are like life-long friends.  I still have a battered, taped-together copy of The Source by James Michner and my Winnie The Pooh and Cat In The Hat books grace a shelf in the spare bedroom.  You can't give away the classics. And Dearly Beloved, The Just So Stories by Kipling remain just as enticing as the day they were written. I have my dad's boyhood copy. When I take up one of these it's a reunion of sorts, the friend you haven't seen for years and can pick up right where you left off.

   In case you were wondering what you should be reading I'll make you a list -- you knew I would didn't you?  Here are some of my all time favorites:

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, a Pulitzer winner from a 2015.  With characters like Theodore, Boris and Popchek the some type of doodle-dog you can't go wrong.

Like Vampires? I'd suggest The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

How about another Pulitzer winner? The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead -- it's history with a fantastical twist and a climactic event that actually happened right here in Indiana.

  Another author I adore is Lee Martin. One of the reasons I adore him is that he was a fabulous mentor and thesis advisor to my daughter when she got her Master's degree in creative writing, but he is a great writer as well. His Pulitzer nominated novel The Bright Forever, takes the reader on a trip of loss and shame that isn't easily forgotten. He also writes great memoirs of growing up on a farm in Southern Illinois in the 1950's.  From Our House and Such a Life speak of  a way of life that is long gone, and the tragedy that exists hidden away in rural America.  His essays are relatively short and good for before bed reading or to keep in the car so you can pick it up at the next long light or wait in the doctor's office. (In a year or two when we are waiting at the doctor's office again.)

Three non-fiction favorites are White Like Me, by Tim Wise, Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance and Beneath a Ruthless Sun by Gilbert King. All three are thought provoking books about how we define those with little agency or power to shape their own lives due to racism, accident of birth, economics, and mental disability.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a breathtaking memoir of a woman coming to terms with the events of her own life during an unlikely solo hike along the length of the Pacific Crest Trail.

And last but not least I'd highly recommend a book by a friend, mentor, and teacher of mine - Glory Days by Melissa Frateriggo.  The book is a series of linked short stories set in the small town of Ingleside, Nebraska. Writers write what they know -- or so I have always been told. Melissa's characters are such utterly flawed broken refugees from the mainstream of life, that once during the early development of the book I had to ask, "Um...do you actually know people like this?" 

"Nope." Was the answer I got which speaks to the depth of her imagination and creativity that she could construct a world  populated by folks like these. I was gratified to be mentioned in the acknowledgements as being an early reader of this book so I have to say, I'm very partial to it.  It's probably as close as I will ever get to having my name on or in a book.

  It seems somehow appropriate to pick up a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera by Garcia Marquez. That recommendation comes with a warning though. It was one of the books for which I demanded a refund. I couldn't get into it. Maybe with everything that's going on, I ought to try again.

*Competitive Rock Skipping isn't a figment of my rather warped imagination. My son-in-law was actually watching it last weekend. A former Notre Dame athlete, the lack of sporting events is driving him to desperation.