“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”  C. S. Lewis

I love this quote! It was in my Goodreads newsletter today. I had never heard it before as one of his quotes. I agree with him wholeheartedly! One of my favorite things to do is have a cup of hot tea while I’m reading in bed at night. So now I’ll probably think of Mr. Lewis when I’m having my tea as well!

One thing I’ve always wanted to do is find a local book club. I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but the thing I used to love about taking literature classes in college was reading and discussing books whether they be non-fiction or fiction. One of my favorite literature classes that I took was when I went back to college for awhile after having both of my kids. My youngest child was about one and a half; her brother is two years older.

The class was in the morning for an hour three times a week. My mom was not a morning person, so I found a friend from church who gladly watched my kids for me…for free. She was a lot younger than my mom and loved little ones. She already had grandchildren and was used to all the running around and changing diapers. She never had a complaint about them which was so wonderful. Sometimes I stayed at the college for an hour or two after my class to do homework, too. So I will never forget Gwen.

Anyway, the class I took was Asian American Literature. We read writing by authors who wrote from the cultures of Vietnam, China, Japan, etc. We discussed the Japanese-American internment camps, the Vietnam War, and many other things. But the book we had to read, discuss, and write an essay final on was called “The Woman Warrior” by Maxine Hong Kingston. It was a haunting but inspirational book. There was a great deal of it I may not have understood if it hadn’t been for the help of my awesome instructor, Steve Turnwall. He brought out things and explained them to where I really got into that book. As I read it, I took notes, wrote in the margins, and asked a lot of questions. It is the only book I will never forget reading in college, the one that has stuck in my memory all these years. So if you’ve never read it, check it out!

Reading is one of the greatest privileges I have ever known. My mom was an avid reader; she only enjoyed fiction, but also read the newspaper.  She and my dad sat together at the table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper every morning after they retired. I was living with them for awhile then so I will never forget that image. It makes me smile. They would discuss the local news and tell me all about stuff while I had my breakfast before going off to my classes. My dad only read the newspaper and T.V. Guide. Once in awhile he would look through baseball books, but I never saw my dad read a full-length book. He was more of a T.V. guy.

My mom read so many novels after she retired that she would go to the Goodwill store and buy bags of them. She would read through them and save them for a while. Then she would trade them in at a local used bookstore for more books to read! She went to the library a couple of times, but that was it. Apparently it wasn’t her cup of tea. But I remember that when I was in grade school she used the library regularly. She would take me with her, and we would check books out together. Back then we could only check out two books at a time for two weeks with one renewal. I have become spoiled with our local library. I don’t feel I have to hurry to read anything anymore. We can check out as many books as we want for three weeks with two more renewals! I know that’s a long time to have a book, but that’s almost how long it took me to read that enormous Georgia O’Keeffe biography last summer!

What kinds of books do you like to read? Leave me your comments! I’d love to know my readers as well. Have a great day and give someone you love a big hug!

Today I cried as I read about the ending of Georgia O’Keeffe’s life.  It’s amazing that she almost made it to 100.  (I know this, because my Grandmother made it to 102!)  Georgia lived a long full life, that’s for sure.  She had more stamina than most people have in half that long of a life.  But after many illnesses and her nervous break down earlier in her life, she decided that she wanted to become healthier.  Leaving her husband I’m sad to say was the only way that could happen for her.  She just couldn’t live with his insanity, adultery, and his bothersome family any more.  Who can blame her?  The last half of her life was a very simple life.  I’ve concluded that she had to have been more of a recluse than anyone I’ve ever read about.  But that was how she wanted to live – a simple life doing what she loved – her art!   Her little adobe house in New Mexico was her home.   

Here she felt serene, happy and motivated to work once she was totally on her own.  She seemed to have a somewhat harsh personality some might say, but I think it was because she didn’t trust people easily.  She was taken advantage of emotionally by her husband, and others tried to tell her how to be who they wanted her to be.  What I love about her most, though, was that she basically said, “the heck with everyone else!  I’m going to be my own person, do my own thing, and be happy. ” And that’s exactly what she did.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Read the biography I read.  It is called  “Full Bloom:  The Art and Life of Georgia O’Keeffe”, by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp.  I wrote a review for it at Goodreads, but didn’t say as much there as I have here.  On there you will see that the paperback is 480 pages.  I think the one I read was a little larger print (because I’m half blind)!  The one I read was about 545 pages!!  To date that is the longest book I have ever read.  I’ve read the whole Harry Potter series, but I read her seventh book in a few days!  As involved as that novel is, I was so engrossed in the story, I devoured it almost overnight!  However, this biography took me well over five weeks to digest.  But that is the difference.  There was a lot of stuff to think about and digest.   She was a complex person to understand.

As you can tell, Georgia O’Keeffe is my favorite artist.  What artists have you read about?  I’d love to be referred to some great biographical books on artists.  I’ve read a couple about Vincent Van Gogh and browsed some about other artists.  But the book I just finished was the best one about any artist that I’ve ever read.  Check it out!  I won’t tell.  After all, I got mine at the library.

Happy reading, painting, etc.  Have a great day and give someone you love a hug.

“Success doesn’t come with painting one picture. It results from taking a certain definite line of action and staying with it.”