Finishing a book is like having a really good friend move away.
I get very attached to books. To characters. They become like family members. In fact, on more than a few occasions, I have preferred to spend time with them instead of my family.
This happened with Joe Hill's "NOS4A2." Like his Dad, Stephen King, Joe Hill writes very long books. Like books so heavy that you can hardly lift them. I am not a fan of Kindle, so I make do with propping the book up on things.
I was invested in the characters by page 10. By page 100, I was avoiding my family as much as possible so that I could it spend it with my Joe Hill family. By page 200, I was not even pretending to be polite anymore; I was just reading nearly every waking second. At night, I struggled to stay awake to find out what was going to happen next. I even tried to read in bed but as I said, that book was really, really heavy.
This went on for the 5 days it took me to finish it. Finally, yesterday, it was done. I sat outside, breathing in the scent of my tomato plants and running my hand over the book cover as if it were a puppy that I had come to love and now had to send away.
Little by little, the characters began to recede. They were like friends who had moved away on the last page of the book. I stood waving goodbye, tears in my eyes, hoping that they found good friends in their new neighborhood.
The next morning, I added "NOS4A2" to my stack of library books, looking fondly at the cover. I wanted to say, "Remember that time I read you instead of going for that walk? I just plopped right down on that bench and dug in." I wanted to say, "Remember that time I almost spilled salsa on you because I was eating a taco while I read you?"
I drove the books to the library and as I put "NOS4A2" into the return chute, I sighed deeply, wishing the next person a great journey into those book covers. I hoped it was as fun as mine had been. I drove home and stepped into the office. Glanced at the bookcase full of other books. So many choices.
I tentatively reached for "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Another hefty read. Maybe I should go for something easier to lug around. I was already intrigued, though. I don't miss many Stephen King books and I had somehow missed this one.
I was ready, I thought. A new friend had just pulled into the neighborhood. Time to fall a little bit into crazy reader time again.....
1...2....3...and JUMP!
This happened with Joe Hill's "NOS4A2." Like his Dad, Stephen King, Joe Hill writes very long books. Like books so heavy that you can hardly lift them. I am not a fan of Kindle, so I make do with propping the book up on things.
I was invested in the characters by page 10. By page 100, I was avoiding my family as much as possible so that I could it spend it with my Joe Hill family. By page 200, I was not even pretending to be polite anymore; I was just reading nearly every waking second. At night, I struggled to stay awake to find out what was going to happen next. I even tried to read in bed but as I said, that book was really, really heavy.
This went on for the 5 days it took me to finish it. Finally, yesterday, it was done. I sat outside, breathing in the scent of my tomato plants and running my hand over the book cover as if it were a puppy that I had come to love and now had to send away.
Little by little, the characters began to recede. They were like friends who had moved away on the last page of the book. I stood waving goodbye, tears in my eyes, hoping that they found good friends in their new neighborhood.
The next morning, I added "NOS4A2" to my stack of library books, looking fondly at the cover. I wanted to say, "Remember that time I read you instead of going for that walk? I just plopped right down on that bench and dug in." I wanted to say, "Remember that time I almost spilled salsa on you because I was eating a taco while I read you?"
I drove the books to the library and as I put "NOS4A2" into the return chute, I sighed deeply, wishing the next person a great journey into those book covers. I hoped it was as fun as mine had been. I drove home and stepped into the office. Glanced at the bookcase full of other books. So many choices.
I tentatively reached for "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Another hefty read. Maybe I should go for something easier to lug around. I was already intrigued, though. I don't miss many Stephen King books and I had somehow missed this one.
I was ready, I thought. A new friend had just pulled into the neighborhood. Time to fall a little bit into crazy reader time again.....
1...2....3...and JUMP!
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