So Many Books, So Little Time!

Books are my friends. I am a voracious reader - I devour books. I always have a book with me, because I can't stand to waste time standing in lines, or waiting in offices. I discovered last week that you can read during a frustratingly long, huge traffic jam when cars are moving about an inch an hour. (The accident that caused this traffic jam was horrendous and miraculous that the lady in the purple VW beetle survived). I mentioned before that I read while I walk. I know - it's weird!

I have quite a few books in my library, but gave away quite a few on Freeycle.com (if you don't know what that is, you should check it out!) DC wanted me to get rid of some of the clutter in the basement, so I sorted through and gave away quite a few. I have been lured back into the Christian book club more times than I can count, and have quit just as many times. I use the library more often than buying.

The Message is my favorite new devotional Bible. I know it's not a literal translation and theologians probably cringe, but it is so down-to-earth. I have been reading the Proverbs every day this year - one each day coinciding with the date. Proverbs 31 gets left out every few months. I have been feeding on Philippians or Colossians every day as well. Chuck Swindoll, Bob Benson (who has gone to heaven - how I miss him), Max Lucado give me their insights and make me laugh at times.

When I was in junior high I began stopping by the library every day after school on the way to the bus to pick up a "romance for young moderns." It was a very lonely time in my life and I truly needed the friendship of these make-believe up-and-coming career people. I convinced my mom that I was learning about possible career choices for myself in the future. It's probably the closest I ever came to being dishonest with my mom! It's true that each one discussed a career girl's life, but the romance was what I craved! I kept track of every book I read that one year and rated them with a star system. But the Sue Barton nurse series and the Betsy-Tacy series were really great choices.

Did anyone else ever discover Beany Malone? I absolutely loved this family and Beany's misadventures. It was such a clean and wholesome series. I have actually re-read them many times in adulthood and even joined a Beany Malone week-end in Denver, where the author, Laura Mattingly Weber, lived and wrote. I could write a whole post on that week-end alone, and may someday. There are fanatical fans out there!! Much worse than I.

Then I went through a classical reading period - probably the most cerebral time of my life. I really need to read those books again instead of the rather mindless mysteries I enjoy now. I'm the only one I know who really loved Silas Marner, understood Animal Farm, and did a paper on Pilgrim's Progress!

All of this has come to mind because I found
Anne of Green Gables on four video tapes at the library yesterday. I love Anne (with an e) and read every book in the very long series one summer when the kids were young. I love it when she says "scope for the imagination" and "depths of despair!" A few years ago PBS showed the books on tape series during their push for funding. I loved the movies, but the interruptions were so frustrating! So when I found these four videos yesterday (in the children's section), I snatched them up and began watching them last night. I seldom watch a movie based on a book that I have read, because they are so inferior. This series is the exception. The young Anne, Megan Followes, is Anne personified on screen. The scenery is outstanding (Prince Edward Island, supposedly, and maybe in reality - you Canadians could probably tell me). I hope I can carve out the time to finish them before they are due - or they let me renew. You only get a week with videos from the library.

I must get busy now readying for the day with Anakin, Care Bear, and Feisty - we'll probably read a few library books together! Have a wonderful Friday and week-end.