Books, books and more books

I love books.

No, that isn't quite right.

I adore books. That seems a little better. I've always been a reader. My family tells stories about my dear aunt coming to visit us and plopping down beside me immediately so I could read her my latest book. When I was a child, my parents joined one of those book of the month clubs for me. I still remember that thrill when that cardboard box arrived and I got to rip into my new book. I didn't care what it was. I loved it.

Somehow, my husband and I have managed to raise four phenomenal readers as well. Actually, I shouldn't say somehow. There are quite a few wonderful qualities about my children that I am not sure where they came from. But, their love of reading came from their father and me and was nurtured, fed, cajoled, and definitely wasn't an accident. Every day of my life, the thoughts run through my head of what I'm doing wrong to my children, what I should have done differently, and how I am going to manage whatever crisis in which we seem to find ourselves. One thing I never questioned was the importance we placed on books and the time (or money) we spent nurturing that love.

I feel remiss that I haven't discussed my fondness for reading at length in the past. In my real life (as opposed to this life which must be my fictional one although I am neither as beautiful or rich as I thought I'd be in a fictional life) I discuss literature with my friends all the time. I receive (and send) emails that simply ask "What are you reading?" and I love nothing more than giving my friends book recommendations. I was in a book club for several years but we went from reading phenomenal fiction and having great conversations (along with fabulous desserts and wine) to reading new-age self-help books about standing by the edge of a lake, looking at the moon, and singing about how we were the most important things in our life.

I quit the book club. Nighttime singing frightens me.

So I turned to the internet. Book blogs were the first ones I read. I could read about books all day. I am that addicted.

With summer around the corner, I need to think about what wonderful books are going to keep me company this season. I'd love for you all, my other set of real friends, to give me recommendations of what you think I should read. Or tell me what is on your to be read list.

I have some personal criteria for what makes a good novel. Character development is at the top of my list. I need the people I'm reading about to seem real. I need to care about them - either positively or negatively - but I need to feel a connection. I need that story to weave together like a beautiful tapestry. I don't mind if a thread works its way into the background for a good amount of time. But, I need it to eventually be picked back up and woven back into the story. However, my most critical assessment of a book (and the one my family loves to tease me about) is that it can't be too neat. How many times did I read an Oprah book just to find out that the poor heroine who is on her fourth husband, has six types of cancer, and has just lost three babies to a tornado, is a the climax a beautiful, rich, successful, happily married executive? Please. I quit looking for happily ever after when I outgrew my Disney books.

And since you asked, here's what I have read lately as well as what I have loved in the past.
I just finished Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie. Yes, this is a friend and author I met through blogging. How cool is that? This is her debut novel and is just the perfect jewel of a book. Magendie has that lyrical way of storytelling that had me hooked on the members of this family from page one. Most of the characters grow and mature but not in a pace that was unbelievable. Some stay flawed - imagine that. It reads like someone you love has sat you down on the front porch on a sunny day and begins to tell you about her life. I truly couldn't put it down. I finished it in two days and I was subbing those days. (We'll discuss what that says about my subbing skills a little later.)

Late last year I read The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. That book is also a debut but he somehow won the literary lottery and was paid $1.25 million in advance for that little work. When I heard that he was getting that much money - an untested author - I knew I would need to read it. He didn't disappoint. I've never read a book so finely crafted that could manipulate me into caring about a figure who is indisputably despicable. Yes, the subject matter is a little controversial and not for the faint of heart. I am so glad I read it.

I also managed to snag A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini soon after it was released. I wasn't sure Hosseini could come close to the beauty of The Kite Runner but I think I liked Suns even more. Both of them are excellent reads.

Also on my list of favorite books would be The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (written and marketed as a young adult book but don't let that keep you away) and Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir.

Now, what do you think I should read?