The strangest thing happened when I read this book.....

I have been reading so many good mysteries, which I will be doing short reviews for over the coming few weeks.  One of my favourite new series I have to thank Cath at Read-Warbler for.  Her review of Julia Spencer-Fleming's 3rd book, Out of the Deep I Cry, the Reverend Clare Fergusson series, got me finally to read the first book, In The Bleak Midwinter, in July, which I had had on my shelf for years.  And a funny thing happened when I read that book. Not only was I hooked on the series - especially the two main characters, Reverend Clare and Sheriff Russ Van Alstyne, but the reverend herself.  Something happened within me, and I realized that I wanted to be like Clare.  It was quite a shock to me when I realized I was jealous of a book character! 

Then I had to consider what this meant.  Did I want to be a minister?  A reverend?  And I came to the conclusion that if my life had been very different, yes, I would.  But, my life went in a very different route when I was very young, and looking at Reverend Clare Fergusson, I came to see that I wanted more spirituality in my life. Not just spirituality, which is vague and not directed towards anything.  I wanted to know my personal belief figure better (for lack of a better generic way to put it!).  For a very long time, most of my life, I have known there was a spiritual part to life that I am attracted to, and interested in.  A way of contemplating the universe, if you will.  I've only ever lingered at the edge, until this summer, when this fictional character woke up in me the recognition of what I want to do for myself.  At the same time, I picked up St Teresa de Avila's The Interior Castle because I had heard about it somewhere as a way to understand the longing we have to behold the sacred.  I am not about to go all religious, don't worry!  That was part of the path I turned from so very long ago.  What I am interested in, is answering the call, that longing.  I don't know where it will lead to yet, just that being more silent is part of it.  So I have to thank Cath and the Reverend Clare very much!  Besides all this, it really is a well-written mystery series, and I have been reading them as fast as I can get them.  I have just finished Out of the Deep I Cry last week.  It's a bit annoying on how the two main characters always keep ending up in deadly fixes together, though this is part of their attraction to each other that they are figuring out.  I will do a review on each of the books later.  I am fascinated to see what Clare does next, and how she has the patience to tend to everyone who comes to her door is a marvel to see.  Sadly it is after 1 a.m. and I have to get to bed!

So in lieu of a book review because it's so very late at night, here is what is on my table beside my computer right now, so you can know what I'm reading since I started realizing what I wanted more of in my life:

Collected Poems - Jane Kenyon (been reading all summer)
London - Edward Rutherford (just started)
The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss (about 3/4 read)
Answering the Contemplative Call - Carl McColman (almost finished)
The Old Ways - Robert MacFarlane
A Book of Silence - Sara Maitland (begun again after last summer when I started it , didn't get far)
The Myth of the Goddess - Anne Baring and Jules Cashland
The Interior Castle - St Teresa de Avila (slowly reading)
Trust Your Vibes - Sonia Choquette (half-way done)
The Poetry of Robert Frost (just begun)

I have a half-formed plan of reading a poem a day for  a year, and posting about the poem (or at least the title!) here.  I like the idea, it's deciding on the day to start! I'll let you know when I do.

So, I am back.  I did not plan on being away this long. I did not know I was even going to take a break from blogging.  As some of you know, last summer I decided to learn how to be more quiet in my life, to make time for some silence each day.  I now know that I was hearing that call.  I still feel the need, and yet funnily enough because of it, I value my friendships and family that much more.  I do want to keep blogging.  I am figuring out how I want to blog while I explore my spiritual requirements, and learning how to say again what I want to say about books.  I have been popping in to see many of your blogs over the past few months, and leaving comments once in a while.  I have wanted to know what you were reading!  I came here many times, wondering if I could post, though it turned out I couldn't, even though I have been reading many superb mysteries and other books this spring and summer.  That is the way of the soul, it sometimes needs something different.  I'm just glad I can write here again, at last.  

A Reader's A to Z survey

                                                                               

 I came across this meme on three sites tonight:  Ana at Things Mean Alot, Care at Care's Online Book Club, and  Suey at It's All About Books.  The original meme/survey started here, at Jamie the Perpetual Page Turner's blog. So, I'm joining in, for the first time in a long time. This is a fun survey, and it's all about books and reading.

Author I've Read The Most Books From:  Jane Austen (only Mansfield Park and her unfinished novel Lady Susan remain to be read).  Agatha Christie. Arthur Conan Doyle. ( The latter two as a teenager, when I read whatever I could find of those two.  What I read is mostly lost in the mists of time now, so I have to go back and reread them.  They don't tell you that when you are growing up, either! ) L.M. Montgomery.  Currently: Mary Oliver, Phil Rickman, and Charles de Lint. Oh, and Stephen King.  Not everything, but most of his, including his non-fiction.  Connie Willis. Jo Nesbo.
Best Sequel Ever: I am drawing a complete blank here. 
Currently Reading:  The Greatcoat - Helen Dunmore.
Drink of Choice While Reading: tea, or hot chocolate in the evenings.  In my ideal world, I wouldn't have diabetes and I could drink hot chocolate every evening while reading.
E-Reader or Physical Book: Physical book, every time!!  I will eventually get an E-reader, but I will always be afraid that the battery will run out, or I'll lose it. I love the physicality of real books, of their texture, smell, the colours on the covers, the text, the pages.  They are evocative and lodge in the mind, the best books become a part of us.  I love holding them in my hands.
Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School: Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. I'm not sure he would have dated me, but he was my first serious fictional love (Mr Darcy was a long way away), and I adored him from the moment he pulled Anne's braid in class in Anne of Green Gables. Sigh.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:  Fables: Wolves.  My first Fables book, and one of my first graphic novels I tried.  I loved it, and have been reading a few graphic novels every year since.

Hidden Gem Book:  Middlemarch, by George Eliot.  I realized that I could read and even better, enjoy the classics.  I had recovered from studying them for university, and could now enjoy them again as stories.  I was blown away by the depth of characters and the life in the village covered in this novel. 
Important Moment in Your Reading Life:  When I realized that I would rather buy books than anything else. Followed by, realizing that I want to write stories, too, the kind I like to read.

Just Finished:  The Shining, by Stephen King.
Kind of Books I Won't Read:  this is hard, because if I were desperate, trapped in a bookstore or library say, for a long time, I'd eventually read these too.  I'd have to have some kind of fresh food source, so I could eat, and sleep.  Possibly at the end of the world?  Then I would read everything there including these. Since I still read the back of cereal boxes and magazines from cover to cover when I'm desperate, there really isn't much I won't read. So in fiction, I'd say:  Erotica and romance, erotica because I find it boring (I have a vivid imagination anyway for myself), and romance because I read so many as a young teenager - anyone remember Harlequin Romances, and the many lines of Harlequin Presents, etc? with the white covers?  I read those for about 2-3 years, anything I could get my hands on.  I've never recovered my ability to read romances after that, though a few of the characters still come up in my thoughts often.  Kathleen Woodiwiss?  I read everything she wrote, too.
Longest Book I've Read: Middlemarch? Jonathan Strange and Dr Morrel? any of the Wheel of Time books?  Later Stephen King books?

Major Book Hangover Because: ?? occasionally I get burned out because I read so many books over a period of time, and I watch a few movies to give my mind a break.  It doesn't last more than a day or two, and is rare.

Number of Bookcases I own:  13.  One is currently being used as a dvd storage holder, which I count as a bookshelf (it was built to be one) until we find a proper storage place for all the dvds we have.  And I still don't have enough shelves!

One Book I have Read Multiple Times: Persuasion, by Jane Austen. Among my favourite books of all. 
Preferred Place to Read: Currently, at the kitchen table, since it has the best lighting.  Sofa is the second favourite place.  I will be buying a reading chair soon, for the reading corner we are making as part of my 50th birthday year.  Then I will always be found there...
Quote That Inspires You/Gives You All the Feels From a Book You've Read:  Erasmus: "When I get a little money, I buy books. If any money is left, I buy food and clothes."  The first time I saw this quote, I felt excited.  I wasn't alone.  Someone else, even long ago, even as famous as Erasmus, loved books as much as I do. 

Reading Regret:  There are so many, many good books to read.  More being published every year.  How can I pick and choose from them, when they all sound interesting and I want to read them all?  My biggest regret is not being able to read all the books I want to read.

Series You Started and Need To Finish (All the books are out in the series):  There are so many, since I read mostly series in both mystery and fantasy.  Currently working on catching up in mysteries: Peter James, Peter Lovesey, Ian Sansom, Stephen Booth, Carol O'Connell, Deon Meyer, Fred Vargas...... fantasy: Songs of Fire and Ice (stuck on book 4), Gail Carrigher Parasol series, Maureen Johnson, Stina Leicht (book one is my fantasy of the year so far), Wheel of Time (some day I will catch up),
Three of Your All-Time Favourite Books:  The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.

Unapologetic Fangirl For:  Ian Rankin.  And he's coming to Ottawa in November!!!  I'M SO EXCITED!!  I've missed the last two times he's been here, so this time I'm going.  I've caught up in the John Rebus/Malcolm Fox series, too, except for the new one, Saints of the Shadow Bible, which isn't out until November here.  He will be reading from it.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:  The Magus of Hay by Phil Rickman.  The latest Merrily Watkins is out on Dec 24!!!!  At least according to Amazon.  I have to have this for Christmas.  I love Merrily, the Anglican exorcist reverend, and the Borderlands where she makes her home, and the creepy atmosphere of hauntings and ghosts and evil. 
Worst Bookish Habit:  Taking out too many books from the library, reading 1/10th of them, and not returning them in time.  I run up a debt every year. 
X Marks The Spot: Start at the Top Left of Your Shelf and pick the 27th Book:  Dubliners - James Joyce.  Partially read, of course.

Your Latest Book Purchase:  Police by Jo Nesbo.  I just picked it up on Thursday.
ZZZ-Snatcher Book- Book That Kept You Up WAY Too Late:  The Shining, by Stephen King.  I was up until 2 last night, and almost 3 am the night before.  It was that unputdownable.  I love it.  I once stayed up until close to dawn to read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, long ago when I was young and could stay up that late.