Blog Luv: Books on the Nightstand

I'm the kind of person who looks for inspiration everywhere ... and I truly mean everywhere.  While there are times when I wish I was someone who had a deep knowledge about one or two things, I've grown to accept that I'm a student who gravitates toward the buffet instead.  I just have too many interests (always have) and that's okay.  Mark often teases me that I absorb so many bits of knowledge that I'm like a walking encyclopedia -- but remember, don't ask me for too many details as I'll only have to hem and haw and eventually walk away so as not to embarrass myself.  ; )

While I'm a visual learner, I read all the time, as much as I can in spite of being very slow. This is one of the reasons that I've never lasted very long in a book club.  But I miss the experience of reading along with a friend, of sharing thoughts about a book's characters or plot or a writer's technique.  Much to my absolute delight, I came across the Books on the Nightstand podcast over the snowy weekend, and I'm hooked.

I find book recommendations in all sorts of ways, but listening to the hosts of BOTN is like having two very knowledgable (and smart) friends as my personal librarians.  In one afternoon of listening to roughly three of their episodes, my list of books grew to ridiculous proportions. I ran to my local library, filled my arms with their book recommendations, and, as you can see from the first photograph, I've only got 14 (actually now 10) days to read these.

I've cracked open Karen Thompson Walker's first novel The Age of Miracles which is about the earth's rotation slowing.  After living through the recent extreme weather patterns here on the east coast, I can't help but feel a connection to the big questions of time and space. And, you know what?  That's what books do for us: help us connect to all sorts of questions, big and small.