The LadyKillers

A Passion for Books

Staci here, thinking about all the different types of passion. There’s my passion for writing, the passion for life, the passion for love. And of course, there’s my lifelong passion for reading. I’ll read anything: the indecipherable assembly instructions for my kids’ toys (always good for a laugh), the side effects insert that comes with medication (always good for a scare), the posters on my dentist’s ceiling (always good for a distraction). I loved reading as a kid, and that love has never gone away. One of my favorite jobs was working part time at my college library, wandering among the stacks, shelving returned books.

My day always feels slightly off-kilter if I don’t read the newspaper before lunch. When the kids are playing in the backyard, nothing makes me happier than sitting on the patio bench, book in hand. I like to tell myself that all that reading while “watching” the kids is good for them. If they see me reading all the time, they’ll think it’s the most fun thing ever and learn to love reading themselves. Or maybe I’m justifying my reading so I don’t feel guilty about ignoring the kids.

I realize that not everyone loves reading. My husband barely reads the menu at a restaurant. Instead, he prefers watching TV or playing video games (not in the restaurant, of course, unless it’s a sports bar). My sister reads occasional books but likes to listen to music or surf the web. It’s really a question of how you want to spend your free time, and for me, there’s nothing more relaxing on a Sunday afternoon than to sit on the couch and immerse myself in someone else’s story, preferably one with a murder.

Why murder? I think because puzzles are another passion of mine.  When I’m not reading, I’m usually working on a puzzle book, preferably a cryptogram or sudoku. That may explain why the popularity of murder mysteries has endured all these decades.  Murder mysteries are the best of both worlds: an entertaining story with a puzzle to solve. What more could you ask for?

A Lifelong Passion

By Margaret Lucke

With this week’s topic being passions, I'd like to tell you about my love affairs.

The objects of my affections excite me, stimulate me, and leave me craving more. I can never get enough of the pleasures they provide. They are always there for me, strong and supportive. Often they make me laugh; sometimes they make me cry. Now and then I get so furious that I want to throw one of them across the room, but usually I'm very happy in their company. We snuggle together in bed or curl up on the sofa and share cups of tea.

My true loves take me traveling around the world and introduce me to fascinating people. They open doors for me; they offers me flowers. They reveal how magic is made and where treasures are buried, and give me the key to discovering secrets. When I'm finished with one, I may toss it aside but immediately I begin feeling lost and incomplete. I can't wait to take up another and lose myself to its promised delights.

I'm speaking, of course, about books.

I fell in love with books before I can remember. I adored their rhythmic words and bright colors and chewable pages. The first book I recall specifically was Little Rabbit's Bath, by Miriam Clark Potter, in which a young bunny refuses to take his bath but is denied his dinner until he has a change of heart. I made my mom read it over and over until I had it memorized. Next I developed a crush on Dr. Seuss's And to Think that It Happened on Mulberry Street, in which a boy named Marco turns a plain horse and wagon into a marvelous parade with an elephant, giraffes, and a big brass band. From the first book I learned about the consequences of good and bad behavior, while the second showed me that I could create thrilling wonders with my own imagination.

After that I read stacks of Little Golden books, learned history via the Childhood of Famous Americans series, peeked behind the walls of The Secret Garden, learned about life and love from Gone with the Wind and Marjorie Morningstar. Along the way I met Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie and fell in love with mysteries.

I loved books so much that I decided I wanted to write my own. My earliest published story was a private eye story that appeared in a magazine produced by my sixth grade class, and most of the fiction I've written since then falls into, or at least very near, the mystery category.

Reading a book is a quick affair. It's immensely satisfying when a strong attraction is present, and easily broken off if it's not. Writing one is a long-term relationship with everything that such a bond entails--the moments of heady excitement, the fond embraces, the pouting and arguments, the begging for forgiveness, the sweet times when you kiss and make up, the nights when you just want to tell it that you have a headache and please leave you alone.

If I don’t have a couple of books in progress--one that I'm reading, one that I'm writing--I feel itchy and restless and unfulfilled. Yet as soon as a new one comes along, I feel complete again. There's nothing so satisfying as finding a new book to love.

Passion = Work (and chocolate, too)

Ann Parker here, every other Thursday (except when I'm not), staring at the computer screen at the 11th hour and trying desperately to dredge up a topic for PASSION.

It's not that I don't have my passions: reading, writing, music (listening only, I'm no musician), family, friends, coffee (I could not start the day without it), research, and, of course, chocolatet. But right up there in the top ten (okay, probably the top five) would have to be WORK.

Work, as in a job, the 9-to-5, the daily grind, a gig, a commission...

Okay, that's about all that's interesting under synonyms. Now, want to know what's listed under antonyms? Unemployment (no surprise there) and ... get this ... fun.

Unemployment, I can understand. Been there, done that, don't ever ever want to be there again. Would rather be saying, "Want fries with that?" or pretty much anything else rather than revisit those grim gray days.

So, unemployment, a definite antonym. But fun?? Who decided that work is not FUN?? I guess someone who isn't passionate about their vocation.

I'm a science/technical writer by trade. I'm hoping I can continue working with scientific/technical concepts and people until the day I die... because it's FUN. (And it's work that puts money in the bank, which is, of course, a very very important consideration.)

Some people have said to me, "Well, if you weren't doing all that you could spend your time writing fiction." Sorry, it doesn't work that way for me. If I don't have "work" of the type described above, I spend all my time panicking and wondering when the next project will come in. Rather than thinking about the next book or all the promotion I should be doing on the current book (yes, I should, I really should), I start scanning the freelance lists, Craigslist, employment boards, you-name-it, just in case my main bread-and-butter clients suddenly decide not to come calling anymore.

So, I'm passionate about work and staying gainfully employed in my haphazard freelance/consulting-type world. Case in point: yesterday, after depositing a nice check from one client, another client popped up on email, saying they had a small, quick-turnaround project and was I interested in working on it? Since I'd just finished up a couple of big projects elsewhere, I was much relieved to received this query. I know this particular project will involve learning and writing about some very neat science-y invention/development. Of course I said yes. So before heading to bed tonight, I've got to to check in and find out what the technical topic du jour will be. Whatever it is, I know one thing for certain: More fun ahead!

 

NEWS and PASSIONS

NEWS FLASHES!!

• Penny Warner's THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB: Secret of the Skeleton Key, came out last week.
  It's for middle grade kids 8 to 12 years, and is available in hardcover and eBook formats. Read more about it on Penny's website.
• Camille Minichino will give a talk to the California Retired Teachers Association on Tuesday, September 20 at noon, in Dublin, CA. Details at www.minichino.com

 

Next topic: PASSIONS

Chocolate? Fast cars? Tight jeans? Good books?

The LadyKillers will reveal their passions next week ... Now, what are YOURS?