"A room without books is like a body without a soul."  (Cicero)

 

Reading is such a passion with me.  When I retired, I think I read a book a day for about three months.  It was so wonderful to finally have time to just read, read, and then read some more.  Even with all that reading, I never really made a dent in my pile of books.  I'm constantly adding new authors and unread classics to it, so it's destined to never be whittled down.

 

My favorite author is Jane Austen.  Most years I re-read all of her books in July.  I missed last summer; can't remember why.  I think I just had a really busy year.   Pride and Prejudice  is my all-time favorite book.  With the new movie out, maybe the next generation will catch on to it.   For me, the video with Colin Firth is close to a perfect adaptation of the story, although I am looking forward to seeing this new version.

 

When we were children, maybe around late elementary school, my parents bought The World Book Encyclopedia.  I was in heaven!   I proceeded to read straight through it, starting with volume one and not stopping until I had finished the last one.  There was virtually no topic that didn't interest me. (Hmmm, just occurs to me that this might be the reason I've always been good at Trivial Pursuit.  lol)   Every year, World Book sent out an update.  I pounced on this tome the minute it hit the door and, as you have already guessed, read it straight through.

 

Right now I'm reading English history.  One of the wonderful things about having been an English major in college is that we not only read literature, we read history.  No book can really be understood apart from its time in history, including both the world of the author and the environment of the characters.  But my reading right now is a little early for Jane Austen.  I'm wallowing through all those wives with Henry VIII. Talk about a character!

 

It's cold and snowy here today.  I probably won't even leave the house, just hunker down with my books and a pot of coffee.  Ah, joy!