Thoughts on Reading

Once I learned how to read in first grade, I never stopped reading. I come by it naturally, being the granddaughter of another avid reader who read mostly Texas history books and the daughter of an avid reader who focused on history of many places. So naturally I just had to be an avid reader too.
Recently Hubby and I went through our large home library to get rid of the books that we didn’t think we’ll read or read again. Books are precious to me so that process was very hard and painful. I couldn’t help myself; I thumbed through the pages of the books going out the door and looked over the passages that sounded familiar. During my thumbing, I found quite a few airline boarding passes that dated over a decade ago. I carry books with me everywhere, but now most are on my Kindle.
Most of our unwanted—not a good term, but it fits—books were non-fiction. History books of many kinds. For a while, I read a lot of books about the American fur trade including the three-volume set by Hiram Chittenden. I read it years ago and haven’t looked at them again. I couldn’t let go of our books about Bent’s Fort, Jedidiah Smith, and Charles Bent. I enjoyed them too much to let go and have referred back to them from time to time.
So who are my favorite authors? 1) I like Tony Hillerman’s books. They’re clean and because I used to live near the Navajo reservation, I’m familiar with his settings. 2) The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling are some of my very favorites because they include my favorite elements: fantasy and magic, good vs evil themes with good always triumphing, and devotion to loved ones. 3) David Lavender wrote most of my favorite history books. His books are well researched and written in an interesting manner. 4) Speaking of non-fiction, I recommend Letters of a Nation, edited by Andrew Carroll. It’s a collection of letters written by those who first settled American through the 1990s. It’s a fascinating look at history through the eyes of people living it. 5) I grew up reading Victorian romances by Victoria Holt. Clean romances always attract my attention. 6) Someday read Ben-Hur. It’s good too.
I write books that I think I’d like to read. Last week, I talked about writing clean books without sexual references and profanities. I like books with good stories and action. Humor is always appreciated too, but the kind of humor that doesn’t involve body processes or personal attacks. Old-time humor is what makes me laugh.
I read a lot of books by other self-published authors that I’ve met here and there. I enjoy supporting them by reading their work and I hope they’ll return the favor by reading mine. There’s lots and lots of great self-published and local authors out there. I encourage you to read books by local and self-published authors. You can support a starving author by writing a review. The more reviews, the more attention he/she gets and that leads to success.