A Book Blog Is Born

Relief sculpture at St. Simon the Tanner Coptic Church, Cairo, Egypt

I love to read. Every year since 2007, I have resolved to read at least 50 books per year, and it is the only New Year's resolution that I always keep. By mid-February, my visits to the gym are spaced wider and wider apart, I'm drinking too much soda again, and when it's really cold, I'm not dragging my dog outside for her daily walk. But I'm still eagerly attacking my stacks of books, surfing goodreads for new recommendations, and digging through my neighborhood bookstore.

For me, reading is an entertaining way to help satisfy my curiosity about life, other people, other cultures, and history. A good novel gives me the opportunity to inhabit someone else's life, to see how the world looks through somebody else's eyes. I reach for nonfiction to answer questions about why the world is the way it is and how it got this way. I spent five months traveling through Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East last year, and I've spent most of the year since I returned reading to try to better understand what I saw and experienced there.

Usually I enjoy the solitude that books can provide, but books are capable of creating instant community. When I read a passage that really moves me, I am distressed--almost physically uncomfortable--if there is no friend nearby to read it to. Sometimes I can't stop myself and actually type the quote into Facebook (I know. I'm sorry, friends). Ironically, the more I enjoy a book, the more anxious I am to give it away the instant I'm finished with it, pressing it into the hands of the first friend I see. (Is there any other possession that has that effect on people? My new shoes are amazing--you must wear them home! This is the best car I've ever driven--here are the keys.)

Even strangers aren't safe. I will admit it, if I'm in a bookstore and see you examining a book that I love, I will overcome my introvert tendencies to beg you to buy yourself the book. I hope you will do the same for me. That's more or less the purpose of this blog: to create space to tell people about books they shouldn't miss, and to invite others to do the same. Happy reading, and please don't be shy with recommendations and comments!

--Peg