The World Without Us

I am haunted by the book I am reading--The World Without Us. The author basically describes how the earth will reclaim itself after humans disappear. My husband picked it up and started extolling its virtues and I resisted. It sounded creepy. But after reading a few chapters, I found it oddly reassuring.

The earth will be fine after humans are gone. It won't take many years for it to reclaim itself at all. It was fascinating to see how the great New York City would return to the pristine world it was before even the native settlers found it.

My husband took it with him on his trip to Phoenix this week, so I will finish it when he returns.

Happy New year.

Community Column

Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you have asked about my community column. Please follow the link to the left for my most recent columns. I will update it with new ones after they are published in the HT.

I will try to update it with some of my favorite columns of the past year as time permits.

Thanks for reading and I always welcome your feedback.

Amy

Snowing

Some days I wish that the snow and ice would cause everything to close.  It would be nice to have a good excuse to stay in today. Wouldn't it?  And yes, I am the kind of person who needs an excuse.

Welcome to my book adventure!

I am always telling people to read something I have read. Books are the magic elixer that heals all wounds, celebrates life and gives solace and guidance in tumultuous times. Personally, professionally, when considering the terror that reigns in our world today, I recommend a book for every occaision. Sometimes I get the feeling that people nod and smile a lot when I talk about books I have read. Now I can recommend what is on my reading plate and hope that someone in cyberspace will find it and understand.

This my place to talk about what I have been reading and let you know when a book has really changed me or could change you or change your grandmother or maybe just consider your world in a different way.

I read all sorts of things. Lately its been mostly memoir and travel narratives, but I also read fiction, poetry, cook books, special interest books, biography, history and the occaisional mystery. I remember books I read. I remember who gave them to me and where I was in my life when I read them. I remember what they meant to me. Each book on my shelf has a nod and a wink for me as I look at it and recall its life in my possesion.

My favorite places in the world are bookstores and libraries. I feel more at home among the books than almost anywhere on earth. When traveling to anyplace, I seek out a bookstore. Forget comfort food, all the comfort I need is a bag of books from Borders and I am on the road to recovery.

At Esmerelda's book thing, I also want to point readers to funky reading and writing related websites that I have discovered. I welcome your suggestions.

Last, I have a special feature called Childrens Books I Have Loved where I talk about a book I read as a kid growing up in Ohio in the 70s.

Books have been my best friends since I could read. Are they your best friend too?

--Esmerelda