There are works whether books, music or paintings that capture my emotions in a special way. Their impression stays with me, prompts me to stop and think of what I am seeing or hearing. They motivate me to pursue my own projects.
There is a CD that I love to listen to on auto repeat when I am painting. Eventually I get absorbed in what I am doing and no longer actually listen to the music except in small segments as it wanders back into my conscious mind.
Books also have that capacity to hold our imagination. The ability to help the reader see a different viewpoint. I enjoy reading hard copy books and I keep book journal to log quotes and authors and the titles of the books I have read. So far this year I have read 56 books and a few magazines.
A close friend and I share this love of books. We exchange 3 or 4 books monthly and get together to share our thoughts and impressions of each other’s books. However, like anything else shared, two people reading the same exact book do not necessarily come to the same opinions and the discussion can become a bit lively. For example a book that I enjoy very much and have read three times she could not make herself complete just one time through it. Likewise, a book she enjoyed I struggled through to the end and told myself to avoid that author.
Then a few weeks later she loaned me a book by the same author that I really loved! It is one that I plan to read again. It is interesting the differences we all have, the variety that we add to each other’s lives. The connections that books give book lovers.
In one of the books that I recently read the main character has a poem that she turns to repeatedly for comfort. In the book she wishes that she could reach back in time and let the author know that 100 years later her beautiful poem was still being read, still had meaning.
It is wonderful to have this connection that we feel to the authors that speak to us. They allow us to share in their thoughts and adventures. I can hardly wait to start a new book tonight, how about you?