"CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!"

                              

                                               Getting Lost in a Great Book

            How many of you remember the commercial, you know the one where the lady is submersed in a tub of fragrant bath suds, asking Calgon to take her away?  Yeah, that one.  I remember it well, and somedays I don’t want to come back.

            Have you ever experienced days like these where you just need to get away?  Away from stress, responsibility, essentially reality?Yeah, I know we all do, and it’s part of life.  We’re human, we get tired and need to check out, if only for a while.

Well this is where a great book comes in handy.   There is something to be said about great works of literature.  Such as Peter Pan, Pride and Prejudice, Beloved, The Lord of the Rings, and Lord of The Flies.  I know Why the Mockingbird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird. Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Iliad. Books that pull you in, take you on a journey, that make you sad because they have to end.

I don’t know about you, but I love it. I can spend countless hours reading or listening to audio books. There is nothing better than a great book on a rainy day.  To curl up with in a comfortable chair with a mug of something warm to complete the ensemble. 

 I’ve often said that writing is like having a super power.  The power to invite intrigue stir emotion weaken and strengthen you to a level that defies understanding.This is a great thing. Who doesn’t want to imagine new possibilities, new worlds and experiences? 

Some books should come with a caution label attached to them.  Warning! This book is subject to suck you in and you won’t be able to escape from it.This is my type of story.  The one where I dive in head first, unafraid of what may be lurking there, but excited to discover wherever the adventure takes me. 

I want to lose myself in the characters, their triumphs and trials. I want to see the world through their eyes, one page at a time.  And sitting down with a great book allows me to do this. Over this past year I’ve read many genres of books, some good and not so good.  Romance, Sci-fi and Fantasy.  But do you know what the most crucial factors of these books were to me?  No? I’ll tell you, it was the magnificent prowess of the writer.  Well written, filled with description enough so that when I close my eyes, I can see myself there. 

Words that leap from the page, so convincing that I no longer see the words, but images, vivid and real. Some writers are able to make their words speak to the heart, like a symphony written by a great composer is to the ear.

I love books that make me think outside of the ordinary.  That invoke a part of me that I wouldn’t usually be affected in such a way to generate such a response.  Okay so I might be a bit sentimental and it would explain the wave of emotion associated with my feelings.

Getting lost in a great book has the same effect of a sunny day spent on a beach, or lazily dozing on a hammock swung between two trees. It’s like fairytales combined with reality.  The best of both worlds.

A great book has the ability to ensconce you within the pages, hold you there indefinitely, and make you want to come back and visit often.

Happy Reading.