Read A Book

I’m talking to me – with the thought you may find merit in the message.

All at once it’s clear for peace of mind I must curl up with a good book and forget the world. These days I can even sit outside in the warmth of the sun and take myself someplace where I’m expected to be a non-contributing spectator only.  The point is I’ve got to reconstruct my thinking patterns  -  override unsettling personal and global concerns always flooding my senior mind.

I already have many books I want to read (or finish reading).  I’ll talk about just a few.

One I picked up in London’s Heathrow Airport for the return flight from a 1999 Paris - London vacation.  The Debt To Pleasure is an award winning first novel, written by John Lanchester.   In fact it won the 1996 Whitbread First Novel Award.  My thinking at the time of purchase!?!  Perhaps inspired by the craftsmanship of the novice book writer, I would soon knuckle down and produce my own first book.  It didn’t happen.  Not soon anyway.  Today, I learned Mr. Lanchester wrote four additional books while I labored over completing mine. Black Star Girl was finally published in 2010.

The Warmth of Other Suns is another book I look forward to losing myself in until I reach its very end. Early last year I downloaded the highly acclaimed book to my Nook and began the journey of a terrific read.  Written by Isabel Wilkerson a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, factual and inspiring history is conveyed about the lives of Black people in early 20^th century America.   My father could have been one of Author Wilkerson’s subjects.  He migrated in the 1920’s from the south to the north and Zanesville, Ohio where he met my mother.   I’ve detailed his/their/our story in Black Star Girl, which is also available on Nook and Kindle and other e-readers.

Recently a friend gifted me with a fairly brand new book written by Henry H. Abernathy, Jr., another new author.  The name of his book is School of Hard Knots, subtitle, “A Citizen Sailor Goes to Sea”.  The primary setting is on a U.S. Navy ship in the 60’s and is a first-hand account by the former sailor himself.  From what I’ve read and leafed through so far, it is an extremely interesting, well-told story. I’ve laughed and I’ve felt pain and anxiety and that's after thoughtfully reading only 32 pages!   I vow to begin again tonight.

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I’m thinking there’s no time as good as present time to let the rest of the world roll by and enjoy the relaxation of a few good books.  Wish me luck.