Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Book Club!

I've always been an avid reader. When I was about 4 or so, I asked my sister to teach me how to read. She took the challenge and promptly began to teach me to memorize a certain paragraph in a book. Hey, she was only 6. How was she to know it started with learning the letters and their sounds? Anyway, the progress was severely halted when my memorization stumped me. Alas, I had to wait until I, too, could go to school.
Oh, how I loved school! I have to pride myself on being able to learn my letters with the swiftness of a falcon. So fast, in fact, that I got extremely bored. Was I gifted? Oh, no. I still don't understand those things called numbers, just letters. I don't exactly remember this, so take this with a grain of salt, but my mother remembers me in Kindergarten getting in trouble frequently. When Mom asked what my punishment was and it was revealed that my "punishment" was sitting up at the teacher's desk with a book, she simply laughed. My teacher was giving me exactly what I wanted. Oh, how we train those adults so easily! Unfortunately, my mother was in the mind to help this fully trained teacher in more creative discipline for me. My school behavior improved dramatically when I was given special reading times and actually punished for misbehaving.
My love for reading has never diminished, though my time to read has varied in different seasons. My ultimate dream is to have the library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast! With the rolling ladder and preferably a 4-story wall of books. Oh, and the fireplace. That would be nice.
Back to reality. I love books, of all kinds, so it should come as no surprise that I have finally joined a book club! This is a pretty informal, blog-o-sphere book club that I am very excited about! It is called Bloom and I put a button on the side. The first book is Crazy Love. I've read the first chapter and I can't wait to discuss! If you are interested, there is still time to get the book and read the first chapter before the Sept. 13th first discussion.
It's kinda hard for me to only read one chapter, so I've consoled myself by picking up a couple other books: Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz and Beth Moore's Get Out of That Pit. There is no real reason other than my fan status for Beth's book, though I usually get ton's out of it, and I was loaned the former by a friend at church. It has started out to be really good! If only I could get myself in trouble at work so I can sit at the desk and read...

3 comments:

  1. Melissa, I think you are a "gifted writer." You don't have to be good at everything to be gifted. You know that because you live with Pat!

    I read some great books while in Colorado: "Same Kind of Different As Me" (a must read!! Period) Also, Philip Yancy blew me away again with "Rumors". Then I discovered a great writer of Christian, romantic fiction whose writing skill stand on its own not just for the cheezy purpose of writing a romance novel with a "message" and pitter/patter, syrupy love: Kristen Heitzmann. I read part of the "Diamond in the Rockies" trilogy. It's a historical novel based in Colorado.

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  2. Yes, a "Beauty and the Beast" library would be so nice!

    Here are two of my favorite quotes on "books"-

    "I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves" --Anna Quindlen

    "Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a home." --Henry Ward Beecher

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  3. wow I was just going to tell you about Same kind of Different as me when Linda suggested it. I am in the process... hard to do when studying... will bring it up north:) think I would like to join your club, but alas, I will have to wait till school is done. and by the way-- you got the story right!!! the "rest of the story" ... your punishment was not getting to watch smurfs on saturday mornings..... mean I know... Love you!

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