by Alice Rush
MY HUSBAND and I both take entertainment from reading. The difference between us is that he enjoys non-fiction and I am much more of a fiction lover. I’m looking for escape when I read. I need to go away somewhere. In spite of that, I’m not much into sci-fi, although I have read several that were recommended to me that I enjoyed.
Our house is filled with non-fiction. No, let me rephrase that, our house is a library of non-fiction. I have a shelf with my favorite books. These are the ones that had particular meaning for me, or they are possibly signed, or I really enjoy that particular author, or I want a copy to be able to loan it out because I thought it was that good. My husband has walls of books everywhere.
The walls of books are okay of course, and he will go looking for particular ones as a point of reference in his own writing – just in the past few years alone, the man wrote five books. I just sometimes wish for a blank wall, or for bookshelves that are interspersed with knick-knacks and photos instead of more and more books. I guess I need to be happy with my own bookshelf.
Among the other downsides to all these shelves full of books is the darkening effect on a room (I would paint them, but it is not preferred by my husband, and I don’t know if I have the energy anyway) and the dust along with the cat fur. These shelves attract it! I’m definitely not the best housekeeper in the world, but my least favorite task has always been dusting. It was my mother’s least favorite, and she always asked me to do it.
I’M DIGRESSING though, my intent was to write about the differences in our reading preferences. He can read and has read loads of history, both Dutch and American. I’m sure that there is some spectacular history written in a way that I could enjoy, but all that I have found that I like is historical fiction. I get my dose of real history by reading about fictional characters and their lives. My husband enjoys details like facts and figures, the very parts of historical writing that my brain doesn’t retain, likely because I’m bored by it. I will agree that facts and figures are important, but I don’t read to study.
I would much prefer delving into the life of an interesting character with an interesting life. I enjoy plenty of outright fiction. I love mystery and suspense. In the past I’ve read a fair amount of classical literature, but not nearly enough. My favorite books when I was a child involved anything with animals (big surprise there), and Nancy Drew mysteries. In the next few nights I will finish up a great recommendation from a Facebook friend, The Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead. It is about the life and adventures of a woman pilot who learned to fly before women were allowed to consider it.
I think my next read needs to be back into the Mike Bowditch series by Paul Doiron, who writes about a warden in Maine, but then I’ll be ready for another diversion and the adventures of another great character or characters.
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
