Books and More by Lorrie Orr

 

June: Your Reading Life

Every writer I know is also a reader. This month’s prompt is to share your own reading practices. What do you enjoy reading? What genres do you prefer? Who are your favourite writers? Do you follow a reading program, or read whatever books come your way? Are you part of a book club? How does your reading life influence your writing life?

Several years ago my husband and I planned a two-week boating trip into the wilds of the Broughton Archipelago. I planned menus, thought about my clothes, and gathered books. One of the delights of boating is lots of time to read while bobbing at anchor in a quiet cove. I anticipated hours of enjoyment of the lovely selections I'd made.

About three days into our trip, my husband called me to come look at something in the water. I leaned over the edge of the boat and rather than see an interesting sea creature, I watched my expensive progressive lenses slip down, down, down into the depths. In hindsight, tucking my glasses into my shirt was not a good idea. I could sketch, and cook from a recipe, but intensive reading was out for the rest of the trip.

I knew my husband understood my love of books when he said, "I feel so bad. I like reading, but for you, reading is like breathing." What a sweet comment. I spent much time thinking and observing for the next ten days. And missing reading.

Learning to read came quickly and by Grade Two or Three, my parents tell me, I was reading anything I could get my hands on, including the Reader's Digest that arrived each month. Church bulletins, cereal boxes, newspapers, band-aid boxes - I devoured words as though they were potato chips, cramming them into my brain as fast as I could. 

How I loved our school library with shelves and shelves of possibility. There was a set of biographies of famous people - Marie Antoinette and George Washington are the ones I remember most. On the "O" shelf was a yellow book -Time at the Top - by Richard Ormondroyd that I read and re-read, along with The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, the Little House books and so many more. Some of the books I read, particularly in high school, were rather inappropriate, and I learned that not all books are well-written nor beneficial. 

One challenge of living overseas for many years was the lack of books. When someone received a new book, the waiting list for reading it became very long. We all shared books - those were the days of John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Alastair MacLean, and the reprints of George MacDonald, along with an upsurge in Christian fiction. One woman had an enormous collection of the older Harlequin Romances. I could finish one of those in an afternoon, but realized that they were not helpful for my mind. It was difficult to stop reading them given the scanty selection of other books available. I had my own favourites that I picked up over and over again, including those of C. S. Lewis, L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Rosamunde Pilcher, and Francine Rivers. And I read to my children every day, Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, Treasure Island, the Redwall series, and so many more. 

Now I continue to read avidly, mostly mystery and historical fiction, some literary fiction. Non-fiction topics include gardening, writing, cooking, memoir, and especially history. Philip Yancey is a favourite author for spiritual non-fiction. Often my reading is inspired by life events. Last summer I read several books by Icelandic authors in preparation for our trip there. We spent time in Amsterdam and I reread Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, made even more poignant by touring the secret annex where she and her family hid from the Nazis. 

I vastly prefer real paper and ink books over e-readers. However, I recently purchased a Kobo to use when traveling. Packing enough books in my carry-on luggage is always a challenge. I've read one book on it so far and found that it was possible to enjoy a digital book. However, it's tucked away in my technology drawer until I go somewhere. 

Reading is my great delight. Words transport me to other worlds where emotional and spiritual truths are echoed in my own life. I am filled with aching longing, nods of satisfaction, and giggles of joy when I sink into a story, old or new. When stressed, sitting down with a book for an hour calms me, and I emerge into my world better able to cope. I love that Jesus is called the Word, God's spoken communication to draw me from this broken world into his holiness and purity. In addition, I have the Bible, God's words that penetrate deep into my being, shaping much of my thinking.

I cannot fathom a life without books, and I am filled with utter gratitude that I have access to so much richness.

Lorrie Orr reads on the couch, in a rocker-recliner, prone on her bed, on a boat, in the car while waiting in the ferry line-up, on the patio, in campgrounds or hotel rooms - she's never without a book. 

My Reading Life (Pat Conroy), A Review by Brenda Leyland

MY READING LIFE

by Pat Conroy (1945 - 2016)

2010. Published by Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Toronto.

In his memoir, American novelist Pat Conroy shares the story of his lifelong love for reading. He writes about the books that changed his life, and he introduces readers to the people who made the greatest impact on him as a budding author, including his southern-bred mother who ignited his great love for words and his passion for books. She started reading aloud to him when he was a boy—volumes of the world's great stories, including her personal favourite novel, the timeless Gone with the Wind.

Mr. Conroy's essays, rich with description and emotion are, in fact, wildly wordy. Many an editor has been frantic for him to edit his overabundance of words and exchange them for simple, leaner ones. But Conroy seemed to be in his element, and more to the point, he knew how to make all those words work for him. His grand use of words makes me think of the Baroque era, a time when artists, musicians, and architects embellished their creative work with flourishes, swirls, and ornamentation. Perhaps he was influenced by that era in some way. Or, perhaps it was all the Russian books he loved to read—War and Peace by Tolstoy, to name just one—for we all know how thick with description that book is.

Wordy or not, the memoir is compelling to read. I love it because:

• It’s personal and intimate. It's sometimes poignant—when he gives hints of his childhood with his violent military father; and sometimes humorous—when he describes himself shooting through river rapids in a canoe with his favourite poet. Although I haven't read anything else by Mr. Conroy, I felt a strong connection to him—he'd be an author I'd want to meet in person. Saddened, therefore, was I to learn that the man passed away a couple of years ago. 
• The language is rich with imagery and salty with honesty. I am lured time and again to favourite lines just to experience their beauty, savouring them on my tongue like dessert. I copied these lines into my quotations notebook:

“I grew up a word-haunted boy. I felt words inside me and stored them wondrous as pearls. I mouthed them and fingered them and rolled them around my tongue … The precise naming of things served as my entryway into art. The whole world could be sounded out. I could arrange each day into a tear sheet of music composed of words as pretty as flutes or the tail feathers of peacocks.” p. 84

• The author named dropped quite a few titles and authors, both familiar and unfamiliar to me. If someone likes to glean from the reading lists of other writers, this book is sure to make eyes light up with the numerous reading possibilities.
• It's a nice fit, size-wise. I know this isn’t why a person should recommend a book, but this lovely hardcover copy slips nicely into a carry all bag or a large coat pocket to take along for coffee shop reading.

Pat Conroy has written several bestselling novels as well as other memoirs and non-fiction, including A Lowcountry Heart, Reflections on a Writing Life (2016).

A long-time InScribe member, Brenda Leyland writes from her home in Sherwood Park, Alberta. She also blogs at It's A Beautiful Life.