Everyone
who loves to read has a favorite book. Sometimes it’s difficult to choose one
out of hundreds or thousands of titles. Love stories, thrillers, mysteries,
fantasies… so many choices to keep us up into the wee hours of the night.
But
sometimes it’s an easy choice when the story reaches into a part of our lives
and speaks to our dreams. There’s always one that saturates our waking
moments and drives us to finish mundane chores so we can put up our feet and
escape through an author’s words into another world.
For
me, that book is Jude Deveraux’s Knight
in Shining Armor, published in 1989. I still remember how utterly captivated
I was by the story. I laughed…cried…walked every step backward and forward in
time with the heroine. Now, 25 years later, I still look forward to
reading her romantic tale of undying love at least once a year.
I
adore Jude’s style of writing and have amassed a huge collection of her work. Truth
be told, I learned a lot about myself through her endearing characters and
creative, romantic tales. Her books took me through some very difficult times
in my life and reminded me that I am a strong woman. For that, I will be
eternally grateful to you, Ms. Deveraux.
Coming
in at a close second is John Grisham’s The
Testament published in 1999. The powerful novel about addiction, recovery and redemption is not as
well-known as most of his works, but it rightfully deserves a place, front and center,
among his accomplishments. Thank you, Mr. Grisham, for inspiring my students to
read more and for being so poignantly vulnerable with your words.
What
about you? Do you have a favorite book you revisit now and then? One you
recommend to friends who need a “good book” to read? One that sparked your
dreams?
I’d
love to hear from you!
