Reading Is Like Breathing

By Connie S. Hall

I was away for a couple of weeks so they skipped me in this fun tag game, or maybe they passed me by because I said I was tired of tag games. Anyway, I want to participate so here I am.

My Reading – I love to read. While away on a recent vacation, I took many books with me. I knew I would need lots of reading material as I waited for the plane and while in flight. I was sure I would be too busy to read much, but every night I read at least 50 pages before turning out the light. Finally, on the first leg of my flight home my last book was complete. Now what would I do? (We changed planes twice) There wasn’t enough time to do anything about my dilemma on the first stop in Atlanta. I contemplated pulling out my Alpha Smart and doing some writing, but with someone on each side of me I tossed that idea away. Instead, I read the airline magazines from cover to cover. When in Denver my first piece of business was finding a bookstore.

I don’t usually read the same books over and over – there are too many books out there that I haven’t read. Historical fiction is my favorite topic. I also like suspense, and I love to read books by Beverly Lewis and Wanda E. Brunstetter about the Amish.

Total Number of Books Owned – I have never counted all my books. I go to the library frequently, but I still have many books. The bookcase in the living room is from the ceiling to the floor, has eight shelves, and is a little over three feet wide. It holds all the church, school, and self help books. In the hall, I have a small three-shelf bookcase, and a four-shelf bookcase. My largest bookcase is located in the kitchen near a desk and goes from the ceiling to the floor. It only has five shelves for books, but it is deeper. There is a large shelf that holds the stereo. After the five shelves became full, I had to do something with all my books so I started a new row in front of the other books. I hate to say it, but it’s almost full. I have a pile of children’s books on the fireplace mantel so that when the grandchildren come they can find a book to read. In my bedroom, I have a stand with three shelves and three drawers. Two of the shelves are full of books (stacked two deep of books I haven’t read yet), and the other one is full of music tapes. In my computer room, I also have a shelf for all my writing books. All the music books are stacked on a shelf in a closet. I almost forgot my cookbooks. In the kitchen near the cooking area, I have a three-shelf bookcase. I also have a drawer full of cookbooks. If I sold all my books, I think I would be rich, except I’d be lonely without them. I do wonder why I keep all of them because once I’ve read them I usually don’t read them again.

Last Book Bought – In Denver at the airport, I bought a book "The Memory Keeper’s Daughter" by Kim Edwards. I’m having a hard time getting interested in the book, but I’m sure it’ll turn out to be good. Before leaving on my trip, I purchased a book to take with me "Three Against Hitler" by Rudi Wobbe and Jerry Borrowman. If you haven’t read it, you may want to. It’s about three young LDS men, who dared to distribute the truth about the war to their neighbors.

Last Book Read – The books I read while on my trip are "Three Against Hitler" by Rudi Wobbe and Jerry Borrowman, "Missing Children" by B J Rowley, "Just What the Doctor Ordered" by Sara Fitzgerald, "Going Home" by Wanda L. Brunstetter, and "A Star in Winter" by Anita Stansfield. Before my trip, I read "The Bishop’s Bride" by Elizabeth W. Watkins. It was a fun book with plenty of humor. I’m also reading "Expecting Joy" by Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard.

Books that I have but haven’t yet read – This list could be long, but I’ll just name a few. "He Marked the Path" by Janine S. Creager, "Running with Angels" by Pamela H. Hansen, "Humorous Tales of Woe" by Patrick Patrick (he is in my writing group), "Sorry the Stork Takes No Returns" by Claire Bowen (our own G. Parker is the illustrator), "No One Can Take Your Place" by Sheri Dew, "The Light Inside The Dark" by John Tarrant, "Bound For Canaan" by Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray, and "Unlikely Heroes" by Ron Carter. There are at least another couple of dozen books on that shelf by my bedside.

Five Meaningful Books – "Fishers of Men" (3 volumes) by Gerald N. Lund, "Prelude to Glory" (9 volumes) by Ron Carter, "Rumors of War" (5 volumes) by Dean Hughes, "Hearts of the Children" (5 volumes) by Dean Hughes, "Faith of our Fathers" (4 volumes) by N. C. Allen, "The Promised Land" (3 volumes) by David G. Woolley, "Leah", and "Sarah", and "Rebekah" by Orson Scott Card, "Out of Jerusalem" (I think 3 volumes) by H. B. Moore, "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and "Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak. I know that’s a tad more than five, but I really couldn’t choose. I could actually go on and on adding more to this list. All of the above books have touched me in a special way. They are all different, and have a different message that speaks to my soul.

As you can tell, I love to read. No, I don’t read all the time, but I do read every day. I still go to work, have plenty of meetings, go out with friends, and somewhere in there, I do write. Without reading life would be boring.