Books

Books.
I have them. 
I read them. 
I give some away.

My May Personal Challenge is: Read and/or Listen to "Serious Books" at Least Thirty Hours This Month.

A recent posting/sharing of a list of How Many of These 300 Books Have You Read? is making the rounds on Facebook. I have read or listened to 94. And have started in on more. And will never read certain ones.

However, this list prompted me to consider particular books that I have intended to read for years, and yet have not done the deed. "If not in May, when?" 

So - today started the doing. YouTube to the rescue! And I've started with some heavy lifting - an audio reading of "All Quiet on the Western Front." by This book, written by German veteran Erich Maria Remarque, has haunted me in bookstores, antique stores, and thrift shop. I knew a tiny tad of what it was about - so had no willing wanting to turn even a first page. With life in current times being mentally painful enough on certain days why subject brain to torments of young German soldiers trying to stay whole and alive in The Great War? Well, maybe now to remind oneself that life, for me, right now is not really all that sucky. And for so many troops and others dealing with The War to end All Wars life was REALLY SUCKY. And often, way too short. When a new bunch of soldiers is bitching about having to eat bread made of turnips and the "old" soldiers - even though they were nineteen or twenty years old as well - were thinking, hell, we've been living on "bread" made of SAWDUST, if we're lucky enough to have "bread" - well, it makes bitching about "What? You don't serve gluten-free options here?" situations a bit juvenile. Just go without gf bread for now - there's plenty in almost any grocery store in the metro area.

Already the fictional facts of life and death are front and center. And I'm only a bit over one hour into the listening. It helps to be transplanting baby vegetables and flowers while listening to the artillery in the audiobook's background.  Here life is springing forth. The "baby" soldiers cannot look forward to so lucky a season.

Fare-thee-well,
Sue