2 weeks Ago By TRINA MACHACEK
Once I found myself drawn into being a member of a book club. I enjoyed the social part of the book club. We had a wonderful array of different personalities, and the ages ran from 15 to 68.
There is a lot to talk about with that dynamic. Machacek But! Yes, a cracked open book “but.” During the very first meeting of the club the discussion came around to what type of books we all enjoyed reading.
History and mystery were two. Some enjoyed true stories, some wanted novels about women’s lives. Then it was my turn.
I took a deep breath and said, “I don’t really like to read.” There was an audible gasp. How could a writer not like to read? How could a woman not enjoy a good book in the summertime, or fall, or winter for that matter.
What better way is there to spend a long, warm afternoon? The truth is that I have the attention span of a gnat. A very small gnat. I can read and I do enjoy a good book.
It just takes several short spurts. Outside while reading, a bird might fly by, a rabbit may rustle in the flowerbed, or my breathing might even change. All very honest attention grabbers.
When I was in maybe the fifth grade, we were taken to the library and told to pick out any book we wanted. To take home, read and do the unmistakable book report on. I really don’t ever remember reading an entire book before that fateful event.
I picked a story about the first guy to climb Pikes Peak. The only thing I remember about the book is that the first day I read about 47 pages without stopping. Pride in myself lead me to announce that reading earmark to my teacher.
She was not all that impressed. She just reminded me that I needed to read the “whole” book. I remember nothing else.
Not even where Pikes Peak is. Reading is one thing. Remembering what I read is absolutely a non-starter.
I do however absolutely love when someone reads one of my stories or columns and then wants to tell me something as to how it related to them. Sparked some memory or gave them time to pause and maybe even scratch their head. Then, funny to me, and them, too, they start to tell me which story they read, but they can’t tell me exactly what it was about.
Oh, they can see the way it related to their life but can’t actually remember what story they read. I have that same, exactly the same, mind deficit. The important thing is that something we read, that someone wrote, made an impression on us.
That, that my reading gurus, is hitting the nail on the head — with a book. I have friends who read with a passion so great there will never be enough time or books to fill them up. The Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world.
The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. It housed from 4,000 to 40,000 papyrus scrolls from the ancient world alone. Even all the books and goodies in The Library of Alexandria would not be enough for some of my reader propelled friends.
Not to mention that those who read incessantly also have the ability to remember the words that are flying off the page into their brains. Well, except some of my stories, apparently. I like to think that is because my words sometimes hit so close to home that their minds bubble up and are engulfed with personal memories.
That always makes a writer smile the smile of sunshine. I have found the best in reading for me is this. I watched a movie recently, “Capote.
” Truman Capote wrote “In Cold Blood”, which was the last book he wrote. The takeaway of the movie was not about subject of the book, the two men convicted of horrible crimes, but rather of the dramatic change Truman Capote made in the writing world. With this one book he created the first true non-fiction novel.
Creating an entire new genre, or category of books. Now that, the nonfiction novel, I can read in one sitting. OK, maybe six sittings.
Over a couple of weeks at least. After all, there’s always a bird, bunny, cat or band of sheep over the fence to stop and watch. Ask me for a book suggestion and I will say, “Well mine, of course.
” Yep, I still have no shame. Trina lives in Diamond Valley, north of Eureka, Nevada. She loves to hear from readers.
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