Summer being Summer...

 

 

I’ve been a bit absent for a few days – not to worry, I’ve not disappeared.  I was given a project at work and it’s taking up some time.  As it’s an Excel spreadsheet I’m working on, it’s all good.

 

 

I hit a milestone birthday the other day.  I turned 60.  Now while there are some days I don’t feel the spry young thing I used to be, I most certainly don’t feel 60.  It’s funny, back when much younger 60 seemed so old.  And it isn’t really.  But it’s odd.  One of the duties I have at work is calling clients.  I usually do a quick look at their file first just to get a feel for them.  Whenever I see someone born in the 1940’s I worry about calling them as they may be having a nap or something else old people do.  Then I have to ‘get a grip’ and say to myself – “Self,  this is the generation of Woodstock, of Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger!!  And you yourself were born in the earlier part of the 50’s.  And you aren’t old.  So neither are these people you silly goose!”  I have to tell myself that quite a bit.

 

 

I ordered a book the other day – Letters to a Secret Lover by Toni Blake.  I read it not long after if first came out and loved it.  I’ve been having an urge to read it again but you need to see the state of my print book collection to realize it was not at all feasible to try and find it.  I did have a library downstairs and could have put my fingers on it in minutes.  But then my oldest moved back home and dismantled it and didn’t remantle it and then my basement flooded and, well, at the moment I have 40 boxes of book piled up in one of the bedrooms.

The price of the ebook was more than I was willing to pay so I just had to live with that jittery feeling.  You know the feeling – you are jonesing to read one particular book,  It’s using it’s siren’s voice, calling your name, not unlike what Odysseus went through.  But I wasn’t going to give in to The MAN and pay the silly price they were asking.  But a series of unfortunate and fortunate events happened.  The price came down a bit (the fortunate) and I hit a reading wall (the unfortunate) and I caved and got it.  This post is dedicated to the unfortunate or what I decided to call:  The Trustworthy Book.

 

Now those who don’t reread books will probably think this whole thing is silly.  Both my sisters fall into this category.  They don’t reread and don’t understand why I do.  But many readers ARE rereaders and this is for them.  We are all familiar with the “comfort” read.  This is the book that we will read again when we are feeling sad or down and we want something to help cheer us up.  Often when we are in a slump a “comfort” read will help pull us out.

 

A ‘trustworthy’ read is very similar but there are a few differences.  A ‘trustworthy’ read, at least in the way I’m thinking, could only have been read once before unlike a ‘comfort’ read that could be read many times.  But why you first read the ‘trustworthy’ read, is because you know going in you are going to love/like it because you’ve read it before.  I needed this kind of book as I wasn’t in a slump exactly, but I’d read a couple of books by an author I’d previously enjoyed and these books were awful in fact they left a terrible taste in my reading mouth and I needed to read something I trusted I would enjoy.  So it’s not so much a comfort book I needed.  I didn’t really need that.  And I didn’t want to read a new book by an author I trusted as this is what I did.  So I needed a book I knew in advance I could trust as I was a bit book shy

I’m headed out for a week at a cottage early, early Saturday morning.  In fact at the Very Painful hour of 6:30.  AM – yuck.  They don’t have WiFi and no McDonalds so I will be ‘off the grid’ so to speak for a week.  And as I’m not the least bit ready, this will probably be my last chance to blog until I’m back.  So not to worry – this time it’s only for a week.

 

‘til later

****ETA****

So - being the queen of procrastinators I didn't get this sent before I left on vacation.  I shall post again soon, but I had a most lovely time.  But the old gray mare - she ain't what she used to be and recuperation time takes longer and longer.