My love of reading started when I was very young. This great affection was probably helped along by a volume of fairy tales and fables that was included with our encyclopedia set. I read those tales over and over again. The book became quite battered, and I had to reinforce the spine with wide tape to keep it together. As I grew older, my understanding of the stories grew too. I also began to appreciate the fables. The morals seemed to make sense and provide guidance for my inquisitive mind.
Pictured above are a few of my favorite books. Some are just one in a series; one was given to me by the author; one has special meaning to those at the Daily Kos; and another is that old, worn volume of fairy tales and fables. There is also the newly purchased Light Princess storybook.
My husband and I attend a yearly retreat, which is usually held in
Mount Angel, Oregon. The grounds are beautiful, with lovely flowers, attractive buildings, and magnificent views. There is a small museum, a library and a combination coffeehouse/bookstore. This past year I was delighted to find a book on the bookstore shelves that contained one of my favorite fairy tales,
The Light Princess.
Long ago, I’d read that particular story and remember it fondly. My husband has gotten a kick out of my immense appreciation of him taking the time to polish my shoes. While I am perfectly capable of doing so myself, it makes me feel special when he does it. That reminds me of the devotion of the prince in the story. He secretly entered the palace of the “light” princess by becoming her bootblack.
I hadn’t been able to find the story amongst my books. I’m not sure where I read it. Therefore, it was with some delight that I recognized the title on a shelf of the Mount Angel bookstore. The story in the book is just as I remember it, but it is included in a collection that has an informative preface that gave me new facts about the story. Its author,
George MacDonald, was more famous than I'd realized. His writing was enjoyed by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, among others.
While looking up the book online I found a link to its free audiobook on librivox.com. LibriVox is a great site for free audiobooks. I found it when looking for stories that my mom could enjoy after she became blind. I downloaded a few stories for myself and was very pleasantly surprised when listening to Huckleberry Finn. It is a great story, but rather difficult to read because of the accents of the main characters. Having it read to you makes it so much easier to understand.
I hope to never lose my thirst for the wonder of entering another world created by a talented writer. Often there is the feeling of having taken a vacation to the places described in their book. When the characters are fully realized and believable, it is sometimes like you’ve met them.
While reading, I’ve often laughed out loud at a joke. Afterwards I’d feel the need to look around to see if anyone has noticed and thinks me strange. If you’re willing to take the chance of having a similar moment of laughter, I’d encourage you to read the story. It has passages that are delightfully witty and just great fun. Perhaps it will encourage you to have a love of reading too, if you aren’t already “hooked on books” like I am.