i was just over at Magistramater's Xanga site--she's a friend of my good friend Melanie. She does put my reading to shame, as she actually knows classics.

i've always loved books--grew up with books lining the huge shelves in my parents' house, my mother being the driving force behind the collection. As a small child i played with the books, using them to build houses like an oversized deck of cards, and later i used the inside for school projects. There was another smaller bookshelf at the foot of the stairs, and of course we each had our stacks of books to read/already read in our bedrooms. i'm still pretty bad about that, i always have books and magazines and notepads and pens by the bed. No photos to be taken for "House Beautiful" here. i love winter cuddled under the covers reading a novel, or summer sprawled out on the covers with a breeze coming in the window next to me, reading. Therefore there must be a readily accessible supply, am i right? And what could be more convenient than directly next to the bed?

But i have to say, i'm an ordinary reader. The youngest of my daughters just graduated from San Francisco State with a major in Literature. She's found a passion for Big Books, Notable Books. i am apparently not that deep. i just like a book that's well written with a good story line and great character development, whether written by Tolkien or Dean Koontz. i'm an ordinary soul. i once read a couple of different series by Bodie Thoene (pronounced "tay-nee") that compelled me to keep reading and keep reading till i finished. They're historical fiction, and i've never been a huge history buff, but i loved these! They were history BUT with PEOPLE. Not just dates to memorize. As they say, "i'm a people person."

My mother's mother was a book lover too, but she ran more to romance novels (back in the day while they contained more romance and less, uh, "busy-ness.") She always bought books for birthdays, which i loved. My mother read all kinds of stuff, and i'm not sure she ever got rid of a single book, unless it was to pass it on to someone else to read. So, the love of books and reading was passed down through the generations, and that's a good thing to pass down! i spent summers as a kid walking the sidewalks between home and the local library, reading somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 books over those couple of months. i married a reader, and all 4 children are readers (well, Shawn will read more as her kids get into school!) Today's her birthday, by the way, so think i'll close this and give her a call.

What kinds of books do you like to read?