Thursday, July 31, 2014

What happened to July? - Books

This is what really happened to July… I was reading.

At the beginning of July in an all staff meeting, it was announced that we will be giving Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees) an award. She recently wrote The Invention of Wings which is now an Oprah Book Club book. In a fit of missing my book club from So Cal very much, and having fond remembrances of when we read The Secret Life of Bees, I splurged and bought the book.
I was instantly enthralled. As mentioned, the weather here has been amazing. After purchasing the book, I gave into temptation. I gave up doing anything productive on a Saturday and read all day. I started in the morning and read in bed for several hours. Then a bike ride. Followed by more reading on my birthday garden-furniture. The weather was so lovely and comfortable, I lounged the rest of the day, surrounded by mosquito candles and incense on my “deck”.  
 Upon finishing the book – I thought… wow … I really miss this! I miss reading a good story.  This one obliged. Feeling withdrawals from the good reading experience, I stood staring at the shelves of books I own. One spoke to me that I hadn’t read yet – Willa Cather – Sapphira and the Slave Girl.
What an interesting comparison. Published in 1940, it was her last book. The similarities are as striking as are the differences. For example the vocabulary Cather feels comfortable using to write the novel, is not used by Kidd. At. All. I would really like to know if Sue Monk Kidd read this book – ever. It is very interesting. But I think if I go on in this vain of questions I might have to write a PhD... and ... I’m not interested at this time…  

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