Summer Reading

Seems like just yesterday that it was summer, and I was reading in the car while Linus caught a few z's and Sela cooled off in the pool at swim practice.  Oh, yes -- it was last week!  And now it's raining!

This book was my favorite read of the summer.

We ended up with two copies of it.  I would say that neither Sela nor I are "horse girls," but, I wanted her to have some Marguerite Henry's on the shelf -- maybe she'd like them.  There could be something there for her.  For a dollar at the library book sale, it was worth it.  Twice, apparently.  When I came across the first copy, with a modern-looking picture, I didn't think anything of it.  Sela asked if I had read it.  I said I hadn't.  But, when I came across this copy I knew that I had read it as a girl.  Did I like it?  I don't remember.  Which is surprising for me.  And surprising I had read it at all -- it wasn't really my style.  Looking at the cover, I do remember being fascinated by that star on her forehead.

I recently decided that I would read what was always within arm's reach (Sela's books) and not lament about adding the extra chores of deciding on adult books and making my way to the non-children's section of the library -- I'm really happy with this choice.  This summer I've read about the Romanovs, Elvis Presley, Cleopatra, the Gold Rush and Sacramento history, Mary Queen of Scots, Australian explorers -- just to name a few.  It's perfect for the time-being.

And did I say "arm's reach"?  They're much closer than this -- I pick up and put away books constantly at our house.  Which really is fine.  I get tired of putting other things away over and and over again, but I feel grateful that I can't walk through a room of our house without finding several books deposited wherever someone stopped to read.  I was putting Sea Star back on the shelf, and I noticed that this cover still captivates me -- so I tossed it in my bag and took it along on our day's outings.  I'm so glad I did.

It wasn't until the last bit of the book that I really remembered reading it.  And that I did really like it.  And I knew the horse aspect hadn't been the hook.  What I loved this time is what I loved last time.  I know it.  I probably didn't really know it then -- but I'm still the same person all these years later.  Funny how we can look back and glimpse into parts of ourselves that have always been there - no matter how small or how big we are, whether we were aware of them or not.

What a great little summer journey I had with this book.  Such pleasant little 30 minute breaks: Linus resting peacefully in the back seat, car door open, breeze blowing through, sun shining, sounds of parents and kids coming and going, splashing sounds from the pool.  So glad I picked it up.