Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Joy of Reading ~ The Seasons Hereafter
from The Seasons Hereafter by Elisabeth Ogilvie
Whenever she came near the table, she touched the books with nervous, sinewy hands. Suddenly she seized one and opened it and became instantly hypnotized by the print. She stood entranced until she was freed by the noise of the kettle boiling. Hurriedly, she took a thick heel of bread from the box, spread it with jam, and poured hot water over the coffee in the mug. She dragged a chair across the aged linoleum and settled herself, the books about her plate and mug like ramparts. There was the long ineffable moment of delicious indecision, fingers hovering over one binding and then another. She finally opened one book and propped it against the others, and as definitely as if a sound proof door had swung shut behind her and locked, she had left the world.
4 comments:
It seems like I started an EO book ages ago - does she write about Maine perhaps?? That is such a wonderful passage! I shall look into the book just for those words. Do you read why you are eating or drinking at the table? I read magazines but not books.
Nan~Yes, she does write about Maine. I got interested in her books some time ago when our niece and her husband moved to Chebeague Island off Portland, ME.
I don't read while eating, but I do sometimes read at the kitchen table with a mug of tea. My kitchen table books are usually those where I need to pay a little more attention to what's going on. My summer reading project book, David McCullough's The Greater Journey sits atop the little bookstand next to the table.
I love the idea of a bookstand next to a kitchen table. I saw a picture in a magazine once of a floor to ceiling bookcase behind the dining room table.
I agree with Nan. This is a wonderful passage! We have two large bookcases in our dining room, and while I rarely read while sitting at the table, it's nice to see the books, especially when we have friends over for dinner. They'll often times remark on one of the books they spot on one of the shelves. Actually, I take that back. In the winter, when I'm cold and enjoying a cup of tea, I'll sit at the table and read for a little bit before I start in on dinner preparations. Rod will often times read while he's eating his lunch on the weekend, if I'm busy with errands or other projects. We never read while we eat together, though. We'd rather talk to each other. :)
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