Just One More Page

Me: I'll come to bed in a few minutes...I just have a few pages.

Hunk: How many is a few? The rest of the book?

Me: Possibly.

When was the last time you sat up late reading a book? Do you remember the book title? The author? Or have there been so many you can't remember anything at all about the book?

Back when I was a much younger woman, the hunk and I moved to Houston, where I didn't know a soul. He went to work all day, then worked an evening job while I 'kept' house and cared for three kids under four. To save my sanity, I borrowed zillions of books from the library which was quite fortuitously only two blocks away.

And it was there I discovered Georgette Heyer. It's been a life-long love affair. I have a copy of every single one of her books--in print. For me, she's not an author I read digitally. Why? I don't know.

I remember the first book of hers I read. It was Sprig Muslin. I read it in my bathroom while everyone else slumbered in a silent apartment. Why in the bathroom? Well, it was the only place I could go where I could close the door. So, I sat on a cold, hard toilet seat cover and read that book in the flickering over-the-sink lights. I laughed. I laughed so hard I slid down between the toilet and the bathtub. That's some serious humor.

I have since read that book numerous times. I confess it's not as funny the second or third time around, but at that time in the lonely early hours before dawn, it was a life saving story of laughter and romance, a story I desperately needed right then. For that very reason, it will always be one of my favorites. There are many others. It's hard to choose when you get right down to it, but that's the way when you find a treasure.

There have been others. Books that I mourned when I reached the end while simultaneously reveling in the wonderful satisfying ending. Morning Glory by Lavryle Spencer. The Arthurian cycle books by Mary Stewart. The Last Breed by Louis L'Amour. Birthright by Nora Roberts. The Road to Dusty Death by Alistair MacLean. The Freedom series by Anne McCaffrey. White Fang by Jack London.

I expect most readers could compile their own lists. I hope so. I believe that lure to wile away the night reading, whether in the bathroom, or under the covers with a flashlight, or curled up with a comfy afghan in a recliner is probably one of the most important experiences in my life. Books...a life saving love affair.

Just one more page!