We’re fast approaching the
time of year when we pack our suitcases and carryon bags and travel to our
favorite vacation spots. Whether we’re cruising to exotic locales, pitching a tent by a mountain stream or loading
up the station wagon for a family reunion, we’re all focused on the same
objective: to escape from life’s worries and stresses, if only for a short
time. And books fill the bill soooo
well.
I recently returned from a
sun-filled, sand-between-the-toes kind of getaway. In the six days we were gone, I achieved that
objective. Ahhh. In that time, I
finished two books and started two more.
The first book was The Scarlet Pimpernel. I found this classic at Target for $2.99.
It was so different from my normal type of read - a rakish rogue saves
innocents from the guillotine in the nick of time, with style and the love of a beautiful lady. I decided to
save it for vacation. (For awhile, I
fought the impulse to read ‘P-P-P-Pumpernickel’ instead of ‘Pimpernel,’ thanks
to Daffy Duck’s telling of the tale.) The book was a page turner and I will
probably watch the movie (Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon) if it ever comes to
Netflicks. This story was the perfect
escape, but I’m a sucker for characters like Robin Hood and Zorro.
From plot-driven to
character-driven, the second book couldn’t have been more different: Sense and Sensibility. I enjoyed this one, but Jane (Austen)
made me work for it. It’s amazing how
much action she can create in her stories when you consider the lifestyle of
her characters. Basically, their options for activity are walking in the lanes
and fields, working needlepoint, visiting with neighbors, reading aloud and
occasionally going to dances. But their futures are at stake, and she uses these largely sedentary activities to create
tension between characters through dialogue, misinterpretation, expectations
and misunderstanding. I’ll admit, I did skim
a teensy bit, but I was anxious to find out who the sisters ended up with.
Vacations give you
permission to read something out of the norm.
To read a book in a flash, because you can. With nothing pressing on the horizon, no job
to interfere, no responsibilities to break up the flow, you can completely
immerse yourself in the time period or the story world or the chain of events
that make for great stories.
What books are in your
summer reading carryon or loaded on your Kindle? Do vacations give you ‘permission’ to
change-up your reading choices? We’d love to hear.
