The magic of books
'Books are a uniquely portable magic' - Stephen King
When we got back to
We had a lot of books with us which we enjoyed reading and
re-reading and Kindles which were new to us just before we left the country;
from being unsure about them at first we have all come to really love them. We
even found picture books for the youngest whilst he had his reading L plates
on. Other books had to be either brought for the Kindle in areas where we had
internet or were treats delivered by relatives when they came to visit. This
meant that we selected and ordered them very carefully – ones which had been
recommended to us or we had heard a lot about or from authors whose work we
already enjoyed.
A marina book swap shelf - groaning with goodies |
Occasionally we would receive a ‘wild card’ book – one passed on from a sister-in-law maybe and in some harbours they do a book swap. This is usually a table or shelf somewhere, often in a laundrette, where you can leave books you have read and pick up different books which have been finished with by another cruiser. There is usually a very eclectic mix. Mildewed copies of ‘A world of my own’ by Robin Knox-Johnston or pilot books held together with wishful-thinking and sticky tape jostle with well thumbed Herman Wouk novels and rag eared Mills and Boons’. There is also a strong international feel with books in a variety of languages all left by boats passing through.
When I was in the library I realised that I was just skimming along
the shelves looking for a cover or rather a spine to catch my eye. I would then
read the title before deciding whether or not to even pull it off the shelf.
Once I had selected one I would turn to the back cover to look at the blurb before
deciding whether or not to take it out on loan. Sometimes I might flick through
a couple of pages and read a couple of random bits but I never turn to the
front page. So much then for that all important first sentence!
Maybe it’s just me? Do other people choose their reading
material based on the first sentence or just random luck or some other tried
and tested formula of their own? Some people like to stay with a certain genre.
Sometimes it is the unexpected tome which is the most enjoyable, the one picked
up just on the off chance or a pointer from someone else.
Ready to take on the Mythical Maze Find out more at http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ |
The Summer Reading Challenge for children has now started in libraries all over
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