Ameliorate, enervate, and other fun words

When I came home for break, I expected to spend about three days on the couch recovering from the stress, lack of sleep, and a mysterious stomach bug that I picked up due to finals.  Then I expected to bounce back and paint my room and drive my sister nuts and work out twice a day and cook dinner and teach my dogs all kinds of new tricks and go fishing with my dad and put siding on the new garage.  Instead, I've succumbed to the temptation of remaining lethargic, with Gracie's snuggly company, and working my way through all the books I didn't get to read this semester.  My god-mother and grandmother are both librarians, and a love of good literature was instilled in me at a very young age.  I distinctly remember riding around in my booster seat with Grammy, eating blue jelly beans, and becoming horribly car-sick because I refused to put down my Junie B. Jones book.  My addiction hasn't abated as I've grown older, and I had to ban myself from reading for pleasure during the semester because I would never get any work done otherwise.  Typically I fly through books, chasing plot twists and turning pages til the story tells itself out.  I'm working on slowing down and appreciating an author's use of language and the deeper meaning to be pulled from between the pages, but it's really hard to keep from reading as fast as I can.

So far this break I've read:

• The Wake of the Lorelei Lee- one of L.A. Meyer's cute Jacky Faber stories that I didn't realize I'd already read until I was halfway through.  Majorly disappointing because the man tells a great story.
• Some Nora Roberts love story whose name I can't remember but it had something to do with mountain lions and a murderer, and the plot was dishearteningly similar to that of The Red Scarf Killer.  
• Beautiful Creatures- I was prompted to read this because of the movie trailer, and it was a decent piece of young adult fiction.  The plot held my attention, though the writing style did not.  This is a page turner, not a sit-and-think-about-it kind of book.
• Redeeming Love- For some reason I typically steer clear of Christian fiction, but this was recommended by a friend and I really enjoyed it.  It's a retelling of the story of Hosea, and it not only brought me to tears but also made me think about my relationship with God.  I'd recommend this book to anyone as the story is just as wonderful as Francine Rivers' writing style.
• Into the Wild- This was also recommended by the same friend, and it had been on my reading list for a while.  I'm not sure what message Jon Krakauer was trying to leave with the reader, but this book has made my wanderlust flare up terribly while instilling a healthy respect for the powers of nature and preparation.
• On the Road- One of my favorite quotes is from Jack Kerouac, "Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry," but I'd never actually read any of his work until now.  I'm currently working my way through this one, and I'm really enjoying his style of writing.  It reminds me of Nick Carraway in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and the way my own thoughts swirl around almost non-sensically when I try to catch them on paper.  For me at least, this book requires active reading in order to understand everything that is happening and to try to figure out what the author is trying to convey.  So far so good.

While I'm on the subject of books, here are my all time favorite reads:

• Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen- I've got a weak spot for Tamora Pierce, and these books are just great.  I can't even tell you how many times I've read them for fun, when I needed to lose myself in another world, or when I needed some inspiration from Ali.  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
• Bel Canto- all time favorite book if you're looking for the beauty of written word.  This author has serious style, and her writing is like the most delicate, flavorful candy you can imagine.  This book will also make you think really hard and is just all-around powerful.
• Garden Spells- such a sweet love story that combines beautiful writing with just a dash of magic.  The Peach Keeper, also by Sarah Addison Allen, is also wonderful.
• East of Eden- If you've got time to read 600 pages and want a book that'll make you think, read Steinbeck's East of Eden.  I read this on a train through Italy and the flight back to America, so it also packs a sentimental punch.  Deals with everything from family, farming, foolish ideas, a father's love, to the Father's love in the developing Salinas Valley.  At some point in his or her life, everyone needs to read this book.