Looking for a way to save some money on
entertainment? I have often told people that opening up a book is like starting
a new adventure or entering a world that comes alive as you turn each page.
Rediscover your love of reading and save some money in the process!
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“Good
friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life”
were words spoken by Mark Twain. So maybe you have good friends and your
conscience is as it should be but when was the last time you read a really good
book?
If books are not a part of your everyday life
because you are caught up in the online world and you think books are a thing
of the past then you do not know what you are missing out on. Books open you up
to a whole new world and beckon you to enter in. Books educate, they entertain,
they make you laugh and they make you cry. Books tap into a part of your psyche
that you may not access on a regular basis. Books are an instant friend on a
day when friends are few. Books guide and books lead you down a new path.
Jessamyn West said that “Fiction reveals
truths that reality obscures.”
If
you are ready for some new truths then you are ready to meander down the path
of the classics.
What
is a Classic?
Classic books are those that stand the test of time
and still come out on top of the rest! They are books that achieve critical and
popular success that can endure over a span of many years. They are the books
that are unforgettable and leave their mark in your mind and in your soul. For
example, when published in 1960, To Kill
a Mockingbird did not meet with the approval of many of its critics, yet
readers flocked to libraries and bookstores to read it. In fact it sold 2.5
million copies in its very first year. As of the latter half of 2008, the book
has sold 28 million copies and has been declared the “Best Novel of the
Century” by Library Journal.
Some of the classic books of all times include (in
no special order) - Les Miserables by
Victor Hugo, Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen, Catch-22 by Joseph
Heller, Ulysses by James Joyce, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H.
Lawrence, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
Stop here and ask yourself- how many of the classics
have you read? There have been many lists of classic books written over the
years and some of the books that end up on the list might surprise you. Others
might delight you and still others might have you shaking your head in
disbelief (or utter disdain).
For instance, have you seen the movie The Lovely Bones? If you have then you
owe it to yourself to read the book because it is so much better. It is a very
moving story by Alice Sebold. Here is a brief summary of the book, published by
Little, Brown and Company in 2002:
What would life be like in the hereafter for a 14
year old girl whose life was senselessly cut short? Welcome to the world of
Susie Salmon.
At the opening of Alice Sebold’s stunning debut
novel, Susie Salmon tells us that she is dead. Her life was ended on December
6, 1973 by a perverted neighbor. The book takes its readers back and forth
between Susie’s narrative, her need to make sense of her new world, Heaven,
and her musings as she observes her
family and friends bravely attempting to cope with her violent and untimely
death, and the events that are actually unfolding back on Earth in the lives of
the people she loves.
This book deals with one of life’s harshest
tragedies- losing a loved one to a violent crime- but it also carries with it a
message of love, joy, and the courage it takes to allow healing to begin. The
Lovely Bones will draw you in from the beginning and hold you until the very
end. The author’s ideas regarding her version of Heaven are very enticing and
her prose is eloquent. This book will remain with you long after you close the
back cover.
Regardless of whether you choose to read the
classics or not, just read. It matters not whether you read fiction or
non-fiction. What matters is that you absorb yourself fully and find reading
material that engages you and gives free rein to your imagination. Visiting
your local library will open your eyes to the myriad of choices of authors and
titles.
Now tell me- when was the last time you read a
really good book? How soon will it be before you read another one?
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