Thursday, June 17, 2010

Aspirational Reading

My friend Nichole, who lives in Nebraska and is doing her level-best to singlehandedly increase the population of Democrats in the state (no small chore, that), has decided that my household water problems are the result of my reading habits.

Her particular concern at the moment is the condition of my roof.  As she put it in a recent comment, "What's this I see in your profile about how you just finished a book about so-and-so living under a leaky roof?? Really?? Do you need to tempt the fates?? Maybe you should switch to those cheesy romance novels that don't involve any mention of a leaky roof."

Though I can't see picking up a cheesy romance novel habit at this late date in my life, I feel she may have a point.  Thanks to her concerns, I've set aside that book about the Dust Bowl that I was planning to read this summer.  I've decided instead to take up books that offer hopeful aspirations.  I'm re-reading a bunch of Miss Read's Fairacre novels, because they always make me happy and I could do worse than being a well-adjusted spinster prone to caustic asides.

I am on the look out for a book about a single mama who raised an amazingly well-adjusted kid who went on to a long, lucrative, injury-free major league career as a catcher.  While I'm at it, I'll look for some books about people who won the lottery.  That would be handy on a number of fronts (most notably when the roof goes).  I feel that I can safely continue to read my gardening and cooking books, but I'd like to get a social life and maybe - gasp - a date.  I'd figured that I might have to summon my courage and try to meet people.  But with Nichole's theory as my guiding principle,  I'll just be on the look-out for the appropriate book on that front. 

This might work out quite well, really.  Internet, I'll keep you posted.

3 comments:

  1. Can't remember if you've read the Prize Winner of Defiance, OH, but that would definitely fit nicely into your new master plan.

    Shamim Sarif's The World Unseen is pretty amazing as well.

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  2. I'm a fellow Miss Read reader and I also find these books soothing:
    romances (not too cheesy) by Katie Fforde (funny, hopeful and the heroines have untidy houses); Harmony series by Philip Gulley; Staggerford series by John Hassler (he's a good writer).

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  3. Aww, thanks for the lovely post! I love reading about ME! :-) Colby and I were just talking last night as we sat in 100 degree heat at Evie's t-ball game that we are sooo coming to Jersey next Spring (just the two of us). Although we LOVE, LOVE our life, a little change and getaway never hurt anyone. So, when is casa de Sassafras open next Spring?

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