The Mid-Winter Book Stack

"A book is a dream that you hold in your hand." - Neil Gaiman.

I am a lover of books. Have been since I was born, as far as I can tell. Those who loved me first loved me best by doing me a great service: they taught me how to read. For I was taught at home.

First they read to me. Then I pretended I could read myself, long before I actually could. The truth was I had memorized the words that went with the pictures, and said them along, out loud:

My blue kite flies. My purple pinwheel spins.

I have become a voracious reader since then. I've participated in Readathons for good causes. There were phases in my life when I read a book a day.

Thank you to my dear mother, who tried to keep ahead of me; she knew the best way to mollify me, to make me happy, was with a book.

Thank you to my oldest sister, who took my siblings and me to the local library on Saturdays from the time that I was tiny. Oh such treasures were to be found there. Grand adventures. Such stories!

So I have come by this love of books honestly, it seems.

My husband is not a buyer of books but he is also a book lover. He is mostly a user of library books. He reads and returns them. I am trying to learn to do the same, as our house is overrun with books.

But is there ever such a thing as too many books? I think not.

I finished my latest library books last week - I've read every single one my husband brought home from the Bookmobile, even ones I didn't intend to.

Apparently sitting under the covers with the cat on a cold winter's day is a great way to catch up on reading.

I started a new habit last January; I photograph each book's cover as soon as I finish reading it. It helps me keep track of what I've already read, what I want to read next. This is how I know that last year I read more than 30 books; just an interesting thing to know.

Anyway, done with the latest round of library books, I searched around the house to find myself a new group of books. It wasn't hard at all. This is the stack I've been working on for the past week or so. I'll list the titles below so that you can see them clearly.

Sometimes my winter stack includes picture books (and sometimes they're even ones I've made myself). Sometimes books about butterflies, or gardens, or hummingbirds; things to dream about during the days when those things are gone from here, or sleeping, dreaming their sweet winter dreams.

Which two books gave me the most pleasure on this day? First, the Patrick F. McManus book, which made me laugh out loud. He's one of the best outdoor humor writers ever. A special favorite tale is The Great Cow Plot, which is a masterpiece, and I am happy to link to it here.

The other is The Book of the Dead, which is a Preston and Child book that I apparently have not read yet! Hooray! (Yes, I'm taking my time and reading it slowly.)

But in any case, hats off to books, and to the adventures and characters they bring right into our homes and hearts. Thank you for these books of dreams.

The song: Bruce Springsteen, Book of Dreams.

The book stack:

Kathryn and Ross Petras, Dance First. Think Later.

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, The Book of the Dead.

Patrick F. McManus, A Fine and Pleasant Misery.

Nora Roberts, The Witness.

John Sandford, Chosen Prey.

Hazel Felleman, The Best Loved Poems of the American People.

Iris Johansen, Eve.

Don Freeman, Corduroy.

Judy Schachner, Skippyjon Jones.

(Yes, the last two are children's books!)