2. The Autobiography of GK Chesterton: The man was fat before it was fashionable. Witty before the art was lost. A one man literary band, who offers humor and a no nonsense approach to life. I stumbled across this book in my new library and like finding an old friend in a new place I snatched him up and took him out to lunch. The conversation started slowly, it was hard to reaqquaint myself with his depth of style. I had to reread a few paragraphs before I was able to grasp his meaning. But it was worth it. It's nice to have a conversation that doesn't center around casserole (excuse me, hot dish) or when my husband and I are going to have a baby (answer: never, they smell like poop). His comments on life and the modern world are surprisingly very relevant. In particular, his comments on children and the lost art of imagination cast a new spell over the Harry Potter controversy.
Too often books we make books distant esoteric shores, which ought to always be discussed with difficult vocab and raised pinkies. But really, the good ones are friends; you hug them and cry (The Book of Laughter and Forgetting), you kiss them and laugh (The Hamlet) or you yell at them in frustration (Charles Dickens!). They're our family.
Have you rediscovered a classic or has a book become a good friend during a lonely time? I would love to hear about it.
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