When I worked as a RN in a large teaching hospital and wore those colorful scrubs I always wore a pin in addition to my name tag. I have a collection of pins that numbers somewhere close to one hundred. Some are nice vintage ones but most say cute phrases. One of my favorites said “I read therefore I am.” You see, I am passionate about reading and have been this way as far back as I can recall.
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I can travel to countries and places I will never get to in real life in my books. I love to read about old England. No one in the world writes mysteries like British authors. P.D. James, Agatha Christie, and Ruth Rendell are three of my favorites. C.S. Lewis is one of the most articulate writers I know of. His clarity of thought and mind always inspires me. In Mere Christianity he argues the existence of God apart from scripture. It is an intriguing book. Then there is Jane Austen. I adore her Emma.
I read many American authors but one I am particularly drawn to is John Irving. His Cider House Rules spoke to me on many levels. His characters are richly drawn and who could ever forget The World According to Garp ? The Southern authors, Harper Lee, Flannery O’Conner, Rick Bragg, and Jan Karon are not to be missed. I know I am skimming the surface.
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Bookworms are more likely to be involved in the world around them than those who do not read for pleasure. This was found in a recent survey by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D. C.
Readers are more likely than nonreaders to visit museums, musical venues, and volunteer in the community. Maryanne Wolf is an investigative author of a book on the science of reading: Proust and the Squid. She states that the brain is programmed to see, speak, and think but not to read. So the act of reading forces the brain to “rearrange its original parts” and learn something new. You see, reading keeps you sharp, engaged, and helps you think in new ways.
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A government British study conducted on a huge scale in 2009 found that 86% of people in the study reported that reading improves mood and boosts happiness.
What book are you reading now?
grace surrounds us
Olive
some excerpts from this post taken from Weight Watchers magazine Sept/Oct 2010
Love this post about reading! You know how much I love it, have always loved it since I was a young girl.
ReplyDeleteRight now, I'm reading the second crime novel in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire. Have you read these yet? They are so well written and take place in Sweden. You will be transported. The author died before they were published which makes their success bittersweet.
xo
Claudia
Hello Olive! I couldn't survive without my books. I rarely ever watch tv and spend my evenings reading instead...it's the best way to relax at the end of the day!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a lovely weekend ~
:) T
...and Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer.....still. Because I spend so much time blogging, that cuts into my reading time!
ReplyDeleteWhenever I read C.S. Lewis, I feel joy all the time til I get thru the book.
Grace Livingston Hill is my very favorite author.
Also love Jan Karon.
I knew we were kindred spirits Olive. PD James, Agatha,Ruth Rendell, Austen, Lewis...how about Joanna Trollope, Martha Grimes, Salley Vickers, Marlena de Blasi? Then there's John Le Carre, Dick Francis (in his early days) and even Dean Koontz!
ReplyDeleteI'm re-reading (for the fourth time) de Blasi's A Thousand Days in Venice right now.
My passion is first novels...always think the author tries hardest in these.
If you love Old England and have not had the opportunity to read London by Edward Rutherford...you just gotta! It's one you will not be able to put down...I promise up and down. I'm currently reading S. King's The Dome. Books are my sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
I am also passionate about reading. I love mysteries and biographies. I especially liked
ReplyDeleteRobert B. Parker, Stieg Larsson and oh so many more. Recently our bookclub hosted Dorthea Benton Parker and she was so much fun. I had never red her books before so now I am reading her books of life in the south. I read all kinds of things because that is how we are exposed to so much outside of our own little worlds. Love it!
I'm reading "Three Men on a Bummel", which is Jerome K Jerome's sequel to "Three Men on a Boat". Everyone said at the time that it is not as funny as the original, but so far it's great.
ReplyDeleteI am of the non reader group. My mom reads all the time and that gene skipped me. I am very visual and cannot sit long enough with a book.
ReplyDeleteI have just read The Girls and The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens. I read mostly Canadian authors as I like to support our authors, but do enjoy a variety. I love John Irvine too. Also just read Eat Cake and The Kite Runner. I could go on and on....I try to read a book a week.
ReplyDeleteFavourite Canadian authors are Carol Shields and Elizabeth Hay
I must admit I haven't read ANYTHING in a long time, can you believe it???? I miss it but I'm just too busy right now. Soon...very soon....
ReplyDeletei will have to read the book by Maryanne wolf - i love to read -Do you have a kindle?
ReplyDeleteOlive,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I have many of the books you spoke of and I have the Cidar House Rules, but have yet to read it...I think I'll have to give it some time. :)
I would like to say I am currently reading something classic or even interesting to others, but what I am reading are my craft books, LoL! I have really been getting into them here lately, trying to learn some new techniques.
Speaking of books though...have you ever heard of www.paperbackswap.com ? If not, you will love it. It's an online community of people ... A LOT of people in the US, who pretty mucgh swap out books. It's great!
Smiles!
Christy
hi my sweet olive,your pictures are great,and love to keep up with you and what is going on in your life,i have just read, GRACE AWAKENING,BY CHARLES SWINDOLL, VERY GOOD ,about to start FEARLESS BY MAX LUCADO,SEE what i am into right now.but i like most any thing that has words. love you granny
ReplyDeleteI am reading Rumspringa which a documentary book on the lives of Amish teens. When I am done with it, I have a Max Lucado book on the way, The Immortal by Angela Hunt, and The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't by any chance be on Goodreads?
I do not have a Kindle but think I would like it for traveling. I am not on Goodreads Melissa and do not know what it is. Based on several of your comments I am going to get the Steig Larsson books. Thanks bunches.
ReplyDeleteLOL Knitting for Dummies!
ReplyDeleteI love to read too always have even when I was little. Jan Karon is great always read her books.
ReplyDeleteRight now I have ten books sitting on the hearth some I've read and others I still need to, right now I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert!
Thanks for stopping by!