It is a delicious feeling to be immersed in a book that you
can't put down. It is even better when
that book is part of a series and you know that you have many more enticing
titles to look forward to. Though you
may read prolifically, it is a rare treat to come across a story that urges and
compels you to stop all other distractions – work, play, electronic, etc. – and
allow yourself the time and indulgence to become engrossed in reading.
My first encounter with this phenomenon was as a child
reading The Emerald City of Oz and the rest of the Oz series, by L. Frank Baum, quickly followed by the works of Laura
Engels Wilder, Walter Farley, C. S. Lewis, Ursula Le Guin, and J.R.R. Tolkien. I jumped from series to series, book to book,
easily slipping into literary worlds with great pleasure.
As an adult, I am much busier and less able to find time for
reading. It is harder to shut out the world. When I do find the time to read,
interruptions and distractions are abundant and most books are put aside
without too much thought. Reading has
become a “catch as you can” activity.
That being said... Every once in a while, a story will come along and grab my
attention, urging me to get lost in a book.
When I start to look forward to commuting to work so that I can listen
to an audiobook or stay up all night in order to finish another chapter, I know
that I am savoring a gem of a read – the book that I just can’t put down. If I am lucky, it will be at least 600 pages
long!
What are some of your favorite “can’t put it down” books?
1 comment:
I listened to the audio book of The Husband's Secret and it was so compelling that I had to get a hard copy to read in between car trips and listening while doing work around the house. When I started the book, I thought, "oh, one of those books about women and relationships", but this book gripped me and kept me thinking about it for days afterwards. Even now a month after I finished it, I still find myself mulling over it.
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