I absolutely love to read. There is something magical about opening a book, locating the first word and (with luck) falling immediately into a world that captivates and enthrals. Not every tale grabs me so, I'm definitely describing my ideal. Sadly I tend to only experience such immediate and complete immersion in a story about once a year; but with every crisp new spine, every un-touched page there is the potential for something like...
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
or
"Mr & Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."
or even
"When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would soon be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton..."
Each of these books has enraptured me at different points in my life. I feel gratitude to their authors whenever I glance their spines on our bookshelf. The Lord of the Rings was my companion after late nights on the streets of Ibiza. The conclusion of Harry Potter's saga was read aloud on my living room sofa through an outpouring of tears. The tail of Roland Deschain and the Dark Tower (probably still one of the richest pieces of writing I've delved into) found it's conclusion/continuation on our Honeymoon.
Memories of these books lead me to others, more first lines that took me to unexpected places...
"My suffering left me sad and gloomy."
"I'd never given much thought to how I would die..."
And the timeless...
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
Each book is filled with people I've learned from... others I've loathed... heros, villains, victims and bystanders who's lives have become as familiar as my neighbours. Many have taken up residence in the culdasac of my imagination. As I began to compile the stack of books pictured above for the holiday Steve and I are embarking on today, I started hoping that hidden within their pages may be one or two new additions to my most loved list. Many of these titles I've been hoping to read for some time and with five days of nothing ahead of me I look forward to exploring them...