The Perils of Loving Books

My greatest challenge at the moment outside of poor health is one all too many bibliophiles suffer from -- too many started books lazing about the house. To properly appreciate a book, one must spend quality time with it, doting on it with constant attention. Alas, modern living is about rushing about, multitasking, and dealing with that most infernal of inventions: the telephone. As a consequence, one starts reading a book and is invariably interrupted if not called away entirely. The result is a misplaced book that finds itself abandoned and oft forgotten when another tome captures the reader's fancy. Spurned and bitter, these tomes become depressed and apathetic, sulking and gathering dust. Ah, such a fickle lover of prose I have become! Loving and leaving far too many books as my attention wanders... This is a habit that must be broken.

But enough with the confessional, I come here to praise a book that I am truly smitten with. Around the beginning of the year, I joined Easton Press' 100 Greatest Books Ever Written club. These beautifully leather bound editions are well worth their premium and I encourage book lovers to at least try Moby Dick, though I am of the opinion that the book is not for everyone. It is a dark book about the nature of evil and a fascinating insight into Herman Melville's own bitter soul, with an almost experimental style of writing. I suspect that men will enjoy it more than women, for it is a very masculine book.

But I digress! One of the volumes I've received is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irving. Having only been familiar with the kiddified stories of Rip Van Winkle and the title, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I've discovered is that I have a new favorite early American author in Irving. His prose is eloquent with a true love of the flowery language of his era, the book originally published as The Sketch Book by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. in 1820. As much as I love Mark Twain's works, I've found a kindred spirit in Washington Irving, his gentle satire being mixed with true insight into human nature and behavior. Rip Van Winkle is actually a biting satire on politics and marriage, not a child's tale. The Country Church and The Widow's Son are brilliant vignettes on country living in England with its class structure written with thoughtful warmth. The other stories are well worth reading and I confess I'm only halfway through the book. But I come away with a smile on my face every time I read from it and that is a true rarity, a book that can evoke that kind of sweet sentiment. Highly recommended.