The Luxury of Reading

Reading is a luxury.  A luxury we take for granted.  Or perhaps I should say, a luxury I take for granted.  As a high school English teacher, most days I come home from school exhausted and ready for an evening of mindless entertainment, which sadly means I turn on the television and spend the rest of the night in a semi-vegetative state. 

I often wonder at what point in my life I stopped spending most of my waking hours reading a book and replaced that magical time with the inane experience of watching TV. As a child I remember visiting the library with my mother and being told I couldn't check out all the books I was balancing in my arms.  I was always disappointed as I knew that I would finish them all before our next trip to the library on the following Saturday morning. 

Don't get me wrong, I still read, and when I do, it is still magical.  I love delving into the world created by an author and getting to know characters whose dreams and joys and disappointments will unfold for me as I turn each page.  But somewhere, somehow, television began replacing the reading of books and I found that finishing a great book became a rare occurance.

 During this new year, I hope to change that.  I am challenging myself to read a book a week, that's right, fifty-two books this year.  In doing this I thought it would be fun to share those books with you.  Some will be new books as I adore contemporary literature, and some will be old favorites that I find myself drawn to revisit.  So each week, check in for a recommendation for a great read and share your thoughts on the book as well.

So for my first recommendation, I suggest a trilogy of books that have been on the New York Time's Bestseller list for some time: Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I just finsihed reading the last book yesterday and it was a fun journey into the life of a woman who lives in Sweden and experiences a life much more adventurous than mine!

This trilogy of action adventure is not great literature as I would posit that there is a difference between a beautifully told story that will change your existence and a good, old fashioned yarn.  This series of books provides us with a good read.  Stieg Larsson is a good storyteller and it won't take long before you are intrigued by the heroine, Lisbeth Salander.  She is punked out, irreverent, anti-social powerhouse of woman who finds herself in series of, well, rather unfortunate events.  By her wits and remarkable computer hacking skills, she manages to overcome most of these challenges and by the end of the trilogy, she has won over the reader as well as challenged us to find a little more gumption in our own lives.

The book has a fair amount of foul language and sex which may be uncomfortable for some readers.  However, I don't believe it is gratuitous as it is integral in developing the persona of our main character.  But, reader be warned if such things offend you.

Stieg Larsson, a Swedish journalist, wrote all three manuscripts, turned them in to his publisher, and died shorly after.  So the story of Lisbeth is told in its completion.  By the end of the book, I found myself wishing Lisbeth well and feeling a bit sad that I would not encounter her again.  I hope you find the same to be true.  Good reading to you!!!