Going Beyond Celebrity Gossip Rags

When I was younger, I was a voracious reader. In school, I dutifully read every book on the required reading list, then expanded beyond those elementary titles to weightier novels. My passion continued on into young adulthood, when my friends were out partying, I would read late into the night, grab a couple hours of sleep then drag myself into work. I read to my daughter every night from early infancy until she took over the titles and started reading to me. Then, a few years, I realized I had stopped reading. I had given in to my upper extremities issues and just couldn't set aside the pain long enough to linger over a book the way I used to, so I just put them all aside. I started to feel ignorant, having missed the latest releases and being unaware of what book topped what best seller list. Plus, I've really been wanting to go back and read some of the classics I skipped in lieu of more lusty prose from Danielle Steele's early collection.

So now I want to read and I'm much better prepared to handle the adjustments I need to make to get into those long awaited novels. My problem was that I had nothing to read, had too many interests to narrow down to choosing that first book, and starting a book list of my own just seemed like it would take too much energy. So when my sister asked the inevitable question "what do you want for Christmas this year?" I was prepared with my answer: books. But I added one caveat to my request - I did not want brand new books. I did not want to ask her to choose ten titles for me at Barnes and Noble that would ring up to $200.00 or more. I asked her to please head down to our local library and hit up the annual book sale there.

To my total happiness on Christmas morning, I unwrapped a most wonderful package containing just the right mix of books to get me back on the literary path. Sister had managed to snag the following, all in good to great condition:

A brand new copy of Anthony Bourdain's Bits and Pieces (hardback); a 1949 copy of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; Pandemic by Daniel Kalla; Alice Hoffman's Here on Earth; Homeland by John Jakes; Grift Sense and Funny Money, both by James Swain; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; Killer Body by Bonnie Hearn Hill; Helen Fielding's Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination; and a few more. The grand total for this most wonderful Christmas package: $7.00.

Sister is surprised that I chose to write about this, but it is a great example of a couple points: Christmas presents do not have to cost a lot of money, and it is an easy way to support the efforts of our local Friends of the Library.

Just one more thing, next time you're cleaning out your bookshelf, you might consider donating your discarded books to your local library. Most libraries are also willing to take your magazines and other reading material (books on tape / CD, etc). Library volunteers then distribute your donations to reading projects, nursing homes, and public sales.

p.s. thanks Sister for all the other great gifts, as well!

New Year, New You?

It seems every year at this time we see a variety of articles in print and online with the headline "New Year, New You." Having seen this catchy phrase most recently on the cover of Costco Connection - right above a slightly photoshopped picture of one of America's original fitness gurus Jack LaLanne - just got me wondering, what does it mean? If I run to Costco to pick up Jack LaLanne's Power Juice Machine, will my life suddenly change in 2008?