turning the page

Michelle asked me about the books I am reading right now...

I tend to have several books of non-fiction on a shelf in my family room where I put the books I am reading/will be reading soon. I sometimes read a couple at the same time. Trying to let the ideas, words, images settle in my mind. I read quickly and as a result, I don't always synthesize everything - a habit that is great if you are reading a mystery but not so good if you are trying to learn. I find if I read a few non-fiction books at one time I take in more information. Let the words speak to me. Take a break. Move on to another topic for a few days. Come back.

But before I go to bed I like to read fiction or a magazine so that I don't get my brain too energized (though I have been known to read until the wee hours of the morning with my little book light as my husband and Millie the dog sleep).

Last week my husband surprised me with a new book (as a thank you for handling a plumbing crisis in the midst of a super busy week! - such the sweetheart), so I am currently devouring The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde. I love the worlds he creates in his literary mysteries.

After I finish this one, I will be heading back to:
Thunder and Lightning by Natalie Goldberg
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
Spilling Open by Sabrine Ward Harrison
and a book of poems called Origami Bridges by Diane Ackerman (I like to read one when I first take a bath and then close my eyes and think about it while I relax)

And in honor of the film that comes out next month, I have started to dive back into The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I re-read this series about every two years. I never read it as a child; a friend introduced me to it when I was in college. I adore this world where you find yourself in the midst of the most glorious adventures as you fight for what is right with the support of a true, honest, loyal lion. I start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because Lewis wrote this one first (my understanding at least), even though The Magician's Nephew is the first chronologically. This is the book I will have with me in my bag to read when I am out and about, waiting, at a coffee shop...

After this post by acumamakiki, there are a few more books on my list to check out from the library/look for at the used bookstore.

Love to turn those pages, enter those other worlds.