reading the past

i find myself turning to favorite books when i'm feeling bored and pointless, or if i need a diversion from real life. even though i've read them several times before, i enjoy revisiting their world. perhaps there is some comfort in knowing the ending, and knowing that the words on the page don't change; a solidness to the often fluidness of life.

sometimes i come across a favorite book from years ago and it seems new again; random areas i didn't remember, even though the majority of it is familiar. now and then a past favorite annoys me, and i find my enjoyment of it dimmed. there's a bit of sadness to finding a story that doesn't live up to it's foggy memory. but for each time this happens, there are books which stand the test of time, and are added to my bookshelves for easy access.

my "old faithful" list of books:

the blue sword, robin mckinley

a knight in shinning armor, jude deveraux

the changeling sea, patricia a. mckillip

howl's moving castle, diana wynne jones

sunshine, robin mckinley

get off the unicorn, anne mccaffrey

chalice, robin mckinley

ombria in shadow, patricia a. mckillip

a perfect arrangement, kay gregory

circle of pearls, rosalind laker

the ghost belonged to me, richard peck

have you any favorites you turn to when crisis or boredom strike?

an enchantment of words

i realized that i haven't posted anything about books lately; you would never know i was an avid reader. here's a little rundown of my current reading pile:

always a favorite, author patricia a. mckillip's latest piece, the bards of bone plain, was a little hard for me to get into at first. it was a lovely story, with interesting loops and connections to figure out, memorable characters, and wonderfully heavy on the vivid descriptions; and yet, i feel that it reminded me of another of her pieces, od magic, and when the last page was turned, couldn't quite add it to my favorites list. perhaps, i need to re-read it later, mull it over a bit.

i've two other books i picked up at the library, chuck palahniuk's tell-all, and an interesting looking book which delves into the pearl industry, tears of mermaids by stephen g. bloom. hopefully they will be enjoyable reads, but one never knows with palahniuk; i enjoyed reading snuff, but none of his other works captured my attention.

words in print

have i mentioned before how much i love the written works of georgette heyer? yes, i know she writes romance; but if you can't appreciate that sort of thing during the month of february when can you? before you judge, you should know that georgette heyer is not just any romance author, she was the founder of the regency romance genre, as well as an exceptionally gifted and prolific writer.

her characters are consistently charming, witty, with faults, and melodious with words. her female leads are strong, smart, brave, and sassy. her males are oftentimes humorous, be they corinthians, fops, or dandies, and always charming. she does not shy away from married couples, stutterers, or widows. it's very nice indeed to sometimes read about a heroine that is neither fair of face nor of body; but does not fail in attracting the male leads gaze. there is something to be said about humor, witty intellect, and adventurous leanings in a woman.

the corinthian, arabella, the grand sophy, sylvester, the convenient marriage are some of my favorites. i'm especially loving the new covers put out by sourcebooks casablanca, and are indebted to them for re-releasing these amazing books. due to their age, they were becoming quite scarce and hard to track down.