“Reading and writing, like everything else, improves with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones.”
Margaret Atwood, 79, Canadian novelist
After watering the plants and feeding the animals, it’s time to delve into a good book. It’s hot as blue blazes outside, often over 100 degrees in the “feels like” category — and it’s not even noon.
I checked out a book at the library, having finished all my Christmas gift books. “Inheritance” by Dani Shapiro opened up a whole world in these modern times. Dani’s memoir tells her story of spitting into a vial in one of those “at-home-genetic” testing kits only to find out her father, who died years before, was not her father. It seems it is particularly disturbing to find out you have lived your life as an orthodox Jew, and you’re not Jewish. This is the second book I’ve read where the daughter finds out she’s not Jewish. The first was by Lauren Winner. Dani’s circumstances were different in that she discovered her parents used a fertility clinic. Though the donor was promised anonymity, well … now we have the internet. Think of it; Dani could have hundreds of half-siblings. Good read. Available at the library.
With genetic testing like Dani’s, surprises will happen more and more. I have a close relative who knew she was adopted and had searched for her birth parents. Not until she did a genetic testing kit did she find her father. Seems he was young, leaving for war, and never knew he had a child. They connected and both are ecstatically happy. He’s in his 80s, and she learned she has 40 new cousins.
Last week the library had their “members only” book sale. Members pay Friends of the Library dues of $12 and receive invitations to the sales. At the members’ sale you can fill a large brown grocery bag full of books for $5. I started my search for personal reading when it occurred to me I could get books for the church library as well. People like to read books with nice covers and in good condition, so this was more or less my criteria, along with hopefully nothing with foul language or too risque.
I ended up with two bags and 38 books including two fitness journals (never used) and “Drop Dead Healthy,” five children’s easy-read picture books, two grade 3-5 readers, two Kaye Gibbons, including “Charms for the Easy Life,” Amy Ephron’s “Loose Diamonds,” Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Committed,” four books by Alice Hoffman of “The Third Angel,” two by Dorothea Benton Frank of “The Hurricane Sisters,” “Bella Tuscany” by Frances Mayes, and six Nicholas Sparks. Authors were described as “Bestselling Authors.”
Two books had “saints” in the title and two had “Jesus,” including Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Jesus.” One Mother Teresa and Mitch Albom’s “Have a Little Faith.”
That comes to 26 cents per book. The Columbus-Lowndes Friends of the Library have a public sale on Oct. 10 and 12, and another members’ fill-a-bag Dec. 7. For a $12 donation you can come in December and fill a bag yourself.
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