Belle Was On Fleek

Beauty and the Beast is a movie most of us have seen and we can remember the opening scene where we first meet Belle.  She loves books, she is independent, and she has no desire to marry the most masculine, handsome man around.  Her dad was slightly gonzo, but he was an inventor so it was okay.  After some time, she falls in love with a hairy monster of a beast.  We are all thinking, “Yeah, right.”  But you know what would have done it in for me?  He gave her a freakin’ library the size of Texas.  He knew just how to work that Stockholm syndrome.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do.  I love all the different stories, characters, and places.  I can get lost in a book or in a series and connect with the people and places in ways that I can’t always connect in “the real world.”  I am not saying that I am not my authentic self out here, but there are just different types of connections that can be made in my mind with the literary world.  I usually go for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime/thrillers as they are definitely not part of my “normal” every day real life.  I read in all different ways: I have a Kindle, I go to the library and bookstores, and I have an Audible account.  Some books are even better listening to someone else narrate the story for you.  Wil Wheaton does an outstanding job in every book I have heard him read.  I also like Luke Daniels narrative skills in Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles.  Daniels does a fantastic job at changing his voice for each character.  Wil Wheaton does not have a wide range of differing voices, but he has a great energy that always leaves me wanting to listen to more.

I probably spend more time browsing the stacks or lists of books online than I do actually reading.  My reading list is so long, but I can’t imagine not having any books on my list.  If my list is empty, then I am obviously not looking hard enough, or at all.  Books are everywhere and we need to take time to enjoy them.  One of my new year’s resolutions is to read/listen to a lot more books and I am going to do just that.  Remember, the only important thing about a book is the special meaning that it has for you.