I have a huuuuuge hangover

Oh, don’t worry. It is a BOOK hangover. Like when you finish a book you reeeeeally like and want it to go on forever and can’t figure out to do with your reading life next. Multiply that times EIGHT and then all of a sudden you are done (for the time being) and what to read next… … … I have been exclusively reading the Outlander series of books since December, so every time I finished one, I knew what to read next.

So, I was done… … … What do I read next? I have a billion books on my Goodreads wannaread list. I can’t remember why I added a lot of them so I approached my list with much trepidation. Two books stood out. One was “Florida” by Lauren Groff. I like her as an author and I love Florida albeit in small doses so I was intrigued by what she might write about it (more than she already has, check out Fates and Furies). Alas, that book has not been published yet, we’re looking at June. Another book that caught my attention was “The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah. It’s about a dysfunctional young family that moves to a remote cabin in Alaska in the hope it will solve their problems. I loved another book by this author (The Nightingale, totally different time, place, and scenario) and had high hopes for this one. So far it is not disappointing me one iota. Disclaimer: I have never been to Alaska, let alone lived out in the “bush” through an Alaskan winter, so I have no clue whether this book portrays an accurate picture but I am enjoying the book *anyway*.

I have to crack up. We were at the Oscar Tango last night and for some reason I announced that I had finished the Outlander series, book 8, that is. The GG looked at me in wonder. Little did I know that *he* has also been reading the Outlander series. Not only that, he was apparently in a bit of a competition with me about who would finish the series first. Well, he is only in book 6. I was a wee bit snarky about that. Did he really think he could beat me in a reading contest? Well, maybe in some cases. He does enjoy reading non-fiction historical stuff (Russian revolution anyone?). I am not all that interested in that stuff but I am a dern good reader. I love that he is reading the Outlander series and that he couldn’t put book 6 down (on his kindle) at the Griz today.

I am not for the most part interested in non-fiction, at least not for now. During the years surrounding The Commander’s death, subsequent harassment from a sleazy lawyer, and my adjustment to my then new-ish job, I had trouble focusing on reading anything much at all. When you are going through all of that kind of crapola, you think you are thinking straight. You cook and clean and do the laundry wherever the heck you are, Planet Ann Arbor or moomincabin. And you drive back and forth from the yooperland to The Planet Ann Arbor umpteen billion times without getting into an accident ANYWHERE. Because that’s what you DO! When you finally get back home to the job you wonder whether you still have, you swipe your entry card in front of the door and you are amazed that your code lets you in the building and then you find that your boss has decorated your cube and has left a *ladder* in it and you know mostly by the fact that there is a damn *ladder* in your cube that you still have a job and people love you. But I know that I was running on autopilot.

Thanks to iBooks I can read on my phone anywhere anytime without schlepping physical books around. Goodreads (where I snag to-read books from my daughters) and a few twitter feeds (@bookriot and @electriclit are a couple) have helped me to get back into reading. A lot. I love it. I am not playing my flute… Sigh… I’ll get there…

2 Responses to “I have a huuuuuge hangover”

  1. Paulette Zych Attie Says:

    I have been thinking about The Commander today. It is a beautiful, sunny day, and it reminds me of all the positive people like her. That was a rough period for your family and her, but you all handed it with such grace. I still remember her watching the State of the Union. And of course I remember her story about her attire when she was was vacuuming on the second floor. I miss her.

  2. Margaret Says:

    I know all about that autopilot. I am not a huge fan of non-fiction, but we do read it sometimes for Book Club, and I enjoy those occasional forays into that genre. I’ve been fascinated with Alaska since reading “The Snow Child” for BC; it was riveting. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RD856M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1