Aging My Way
Sometimes, especially at night when this old broad’s body wants to go to bed with the chickens – something I used to make fun of my mother for doing – I want a book that simply lets me enjoy the story without having to think.
I don’t want to take notes; or have to look up terms or words I don’t understand; or be so inspired by what the author says that I have to journal my own thoughts. I just want to relax and discharge myself from reality.
And one of my favorite escape-reading authors, one I’ve been reading and rereading for over 30 years now, is Mercedes Lackey. I got hooked with her first book, Arrows of the Queen, published in 1987, which introduced me to the fictional country of Valdemar, a place where “there is no one right way.”
Valdemar characters, and those of other series by Mercedes, have provided me many, many hours of enjoyable reading, and continue to do so. Mercedes has written more than 140 fantasy books since Arrows of the Queen — and the prolific author is still writing them. Over 40 of these books involve Valdemar characters – and I’ve read every one of these.
It’s the Valdemar credence that there is no one right way, and that all, as long as they don’t harm others, should be respected and allowed to live their lives as they choose, that has so captured my imagination. I want to live in a world like this.
As I said, I call it escape reading.
Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion Scamp. She is an avid reader whose mind is always asking questions (many of which are unanswerable), an enthusiastic birder, staff writer for Story Circle Network’s Journal, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.
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