I have always felt that if you live on this earth long enough and keep an open mind, you will learn a lot about yourself and the world around you. Then, God sent me E. ( Now if you don’t believe in God, this is the first and the last time I will mention him so you are free to continue reading.) E. came into my life from another state and she has  me examining my thoughts and  values. She teases me about liking feel-good books! This I am guilty of; one of my favorite authors is Debbie Macomber and we all know from the Hallmark Channel how many of her books have been made into feel good movies.

 It was at this point that I got to feeling a little defensive. I am not overly educated, with part of my learning coming from college and part from the school of hard knocks, so maybe I’m being a little sensitive. I  started  thinking however,  what do the books we read tell us about ourselves? I like feel-good books, comedies, and a good mystery. I definitely prefer fiction to an autobiography and I’m not particularly fond of history,  unless it’s wrapped around a good story line. Maybe growing up not feeling a lot of love affected my psyche and therefore, I love a feel good book with a lot of love and people not afraid to show it.  I have an insatiable curiosity and can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next, so I guess that accounts for the mystery! I love life,  excitement and people so I’m just too busy living my life to read about others, so that accounts for my dislike of autobiographies.  Maybe you CAN tell a lot about yourself from the books you read after all.

You see, I have it in my mind that authors pretty much follow a formula. If they are successful and a genre works for them, they continue to write along the same line. Their story telling improves with experience but the genre remains the same.  I am sure that each of you could probably point out an exception to that rule, but that’s something for another time. All I know is, reading within my favorite genres is a habit that I can’t break  and I really have no desire to try. There is nothing like a good book to take your mind off your troubles,  You can travel around the world and meet the most fascinating people, while never leaving home.  I never laughed as much as when I read Janet Chapman’s “From a Kiss to a Queen”.  When I feel the need for a good mystery, then Linda Howard and Catherine Coulter come to mind. There are so many great authors out there, and I am striving to add my name to the list.

Go out and find a good book!

Happy reading, Linda