Today's TREASURE to share is my love of books. Many have asked why I don't own an electronic book like a Kindle and my answer is the same answer I give as to why I'm not a digi-scrapbooker -- I'm in love with the smell of paper!
My love affair with books began when, as a child, a dear sweet lady in the church where my Dad was pastor gave each one of our family Christmas gifts. I don't remember just what my parents or siblings got, but I do remember my gift was my very own copy of the book, "The Bobbsey Twins" by Laura Lee Hope. I wish I could say that I still have that copy, but, it has unfortunately been lost in the shuffle of numerous moving days. I remember how thrilled I was to be a "book owner". I only knew library books at the time, which of course, you had to return.
These days I'm almost never without a book to read...sometimes two at a time (a fiction and a non-fiction)! My tastes are not very sophisticated; I read mostly mysteries and suspense novels, but a couple of years ago I began reading the classics (that I should have paid more attention to in school!). I began that year with all of Jane Austen's wonderful books. TALK ABOUT TREASURES! I moved on to Emily and Charlotte Bronte, followed by Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter and House of the Seven Gables, ending the year with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina! The next year I read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, Scott's Ivanhoe, and finally Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady. If you have the time to commit to it, I'd highly recommend reading OR re-reading the classics.
Now, because I have the type personality that REQUIRES me to make lists of everything, I'll tell you about another TREASURE of mine. A Book Journal. My sister gave me the one I use and it is from Journals Unlimited, designed by Barbara Morina. You can find a link to her fabulous journals here. Or, if you're crafty, you can make your own!
By the way, my favorite haunts are places where books can be found. So, if you see a middle-aged lady at a book fair or public library "sniffing" the stacks, don't be alarmed -- just be sure to say hello, it's probably ME!
