Favorites

 I read a lot of books. If I find a book I enjoy, I can become inseparable from it. There are few activities I like more than quiet afternoons when I can curl up under a blanket with a good read. This is something that really relaxes me. If I'm not careful, I might listen to December and fall asleep. It's the "George Winston guarantee".

When I finish a book, I want to feel sad that it's over. That is the standard I use to differentiate a good book from a great book. I was emotional after I finished Big Chief Elizabeth for the first time, which was a factor in what makes it my very favorite book. First impressions are very important, if I don't become immersed in the story fast, it is easy for me to quit reading it and try something else. It isn't fair to some books that grow on me more slowly, but that's the way it usually works. I just need to be more patient.

The downside of the first impression approach is that I have read books that I finish once and immediately say "That is one of my favorites!" while the book was fresh in mind. Then the excitement wears off and then I wonder what was so special about that book that I made it one of my favorites. A good question to ask at that point is "Would I read it again?". Maybe, maybe not. This isn't something that happens to me often with books, but it has before. On the other hand, there are some that quickly become my favorites and I don't regret it at all later.

I am currently reading They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky. I read it in English class Sophomore year and disliked it. The main reason was because I was forced to read it for school, which takes a significant amount of the enjoyment out of almost any book. I thought the way they compiled the three perspectives was confusing, but, I was also not really engaged in reading it. I want to learn patience, so I'm giving it another chance. Fifty pages in, it benefits a lot from a second reading. I really like it.

I'm looking forward to the next book on my reading list, The Shadow of the Wind, a novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I rarely read fiction nowadays, but it is really good from what I've heard. I ordered it online and expect it to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday. I can't wait!