Lately, I've been in a complete reading void, at least as far as novels go. I've read plenty of magazines (between my subscriptions to Real Simple and Vegetarian Times, plus a gift from my sister-in-law of Oxygen, I never seem to be without a new issue on my nightstand). I've browsed through some nonfiction. But it's been a long time since I've sunk my teeth into a good novel--one of my favorite things to do.
My lack of serious reading time has been due to many factors. One is the release of "Party of Five: Season 3" on DVD, which greatly increased my time in front of the tube. Add to that the necessity of watching old episodes of "Sex and the City" prior to the movie release, and I hardly left my couch. Work has been superbusy, and when I've gotten home after 10-14 hour days, my brain has been fried. And, to some extent, I've lost some book time due to this blog, and catching up on others' blogs, which has resulted in a good deal of time in front of the computer screen each week (sometimes more than I would like).
But now that work has slowed down and I have all my TV on DVD viewing completed, I have finally taken the time in the last few weeks to pick up a novel. Three of them, actually. With encouragement from Dan (who finished them before me), I read my way through Philip Pullmans's His Dark Materials, a fantasy trilogy also known as The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Fantasy is a word that I'm always a little afraid to use when it comes to literature, but think Harry Potter rather than Dungeons and Dragons.
I haven't seen "The Golden Compass" movie, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The first book was slow going for me. Very slow going. In fact, I think I first picked it up back in January or February, then picked it up and put it down several times after that before I finally broke through. I say this to let you know that, should you find the first book slow going, you should keep reading. By the end, it really picks up, and the second and third books are nearly nonstop. Last night, I came home from work and announced to Dan that, following dinner, I would be unavailable to do anything else because I needed to know as soon as possible how the trilogy ended.
When I finally reached the end last night, I remembered the wonderful thrill of finishing a great book. . . that bittersweet feeling when you are delighted to know how things end, but sad that it is over. At that moment, I usually just sit with the book closed, holding it for several moments, taking it all in, thinking it all through, and in some ways, saying goodbye as I close the back cover after finishing the last page. I love the feeling of just letting the book sink into your soul when you're done.
And now that I've remembered how great it feels, I can't wait to start my next novel. Tonight. Pronto. If, like me, you've been missing a few good books in your life, His Dark Materials might be a good place to start.
2 comments:
Ok, I'm going to have to pick up books 2 and 3 immediately. I read the Golden Compass but was slighly disappointed because it was a little slow...until the end. You have re-inspired me to try to read again!
Interesting--we have nearly opposite views of the first book. I loved it until the end, which I found an absurd turn of events given the rest of the novel (though I know plenty of people who have loved it as you have). I was so disappointed with the ending of it that I haven't convinced myself to read the second or third books.
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