Books. They amaze me. They captivate me. They are true magic. Imagine this.
You get a new book to read because someone recommended it to you, or the cover just looks freaking awesome, or it’s a promising jewel you happened to stumble upon. It sits there in your lap eager to be read, but the cover, the title, the words splashed across the pages are meaningless. It’s just a book. Like all the other books taking up space on the bookshelf. But you open the cover and begin to read anyways, because it’s calling to you. There’s this pull to open it you can’t quite explain. So you do and you begin to read it.
As you begin to read, something amazing happens. An odd feeling comes over you. A weird strumming beats in your veins, and you realize you’ve been sucked into a place of wonder and magic. You’ve stepped into a sacred place. A place all its own with a greatness not realized anywhere else. It’s a place that teams with character, story, ideas. It’s alive, breathing. A thing all of its own.
As you read further, the pulsing energy that started at your fingertips, runs up your arms, through your body and plunges deep into your soul as the wondrous mysteries by someone else lights a fire of exciting discovery. The book captivates. It stuns. It drowns out the craziness of the rest of the world and draws up deep emotion. It’s a ride that can’t be forgotten, or stopped. And you ride that magical wave all the way to the end with sublime satisfaction.
Once the end does come, you feel an ache. The story is done. The characters finished. The curtain in drawn across the stage. Can’t it go on? You wonder. You close the cover for the final time and that once mysterious book is now alive. It’s practically dancing out of your hand it’s so full of life. The story has set aside a permeant spot in your brain to hijack your thoughts at any given moment. The magic is still there. Still strumming strong, and as you set that book on the shelf among all the others you’ve read, you think, “how could I ever think this book was just another book.”
But the true magic doesn’t end there! Remember that hijacking? The magic goes on as you imagine those characters, that story. You let your brain wander to many “what if’s”. You continue the story on your own. You keep those characters alive in yourself, in your imagination long after the book is done and collects dust on the shelf.
And when one of your friends ask for a good read, what do you do? You pull that dusty book off and hand it over. You smile a secret smile as they take it gratefully. They don’t know the magic of that particular book yet. They just see a pretty cover and pages with words. You can see the half flippant attitude “it’s just another book”. They don’t get it, not yet, but they soon will. Then you can share in the secret club, that secret place, and then you both can share in the magic together.
Want to share in some of my magic? Here are some very good reads I’ve enjoyed in the last few months and some I read last year. And yes, I’m a big fan of series, but I have a few single books in the list too. 🙂
A humorous fictional tale about young Jesus Christ’s life through eyes of his best friend Biff… Lamb by Christopher Moore
A science fiction/fantasy book about an oppressed society and a boy’s search for the truth… The Giver by Lois Lowry
A historical Horror that will leave you chilled to the bone and on the edge of your seat… Weight of Chains by Lesley Conner
A true story about a dying professor who imparts the wisdom of life to an old student… Tuesdays with Moorie by Mitch Albom
A book of humorous short true stories about being an Iranian in America… Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
A modern day western… The Longmire series by Craig Johnson
A beautifully written fantasy about young Merlin… Merlin: The Lost Years series by T.A. Barron
A thrilling ride of spies and political turmoil… The Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva
A not so in-the-future science fiction that’s will leave you stunned and wowed… The Silo series (Wool, Shift, and Dust) by Huge Howey
A science fiction/ fantasy teen drama that has Earth a battleground between aliens… I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Have any magic to share? Feel free to post books you just couldn’t put down! I’m always looking for my next great read.
Cynthia D. Griffin 