Something "light"...

(I struggle with post titles, can you tell?)
It's no secret that I read like I breathe, that our house is insulated by a nice layer of books on shelves and that....

True Confession #372:

I am a book snob.
(I may have confessed this before. I lose track.)

I don't know when this happened, because I read Danielle Steele in high school and freely admitted it in public. (*sigh* This post is chock-full of confessions...watch for 'em.) I bought paperbacks from the grocery store and *gasp!* left them laying around for all the world to see, even loaning them to friends!  (NO, they weren't Harlequins. Think John Grisham, Tess Gerritson or Robert Ludlum.)

I'm thinking it must have been in college sometime that I got snobby about books.  I didn't want to waste my reading time on anything that wasn't going to better me in some way.  In fact, now that I write this, I KNOW it was the summer philosophy class with a rather laid back professor who assigned an excellent reading list, then took our class out under the big old trees on campus to discuss the deeper meanings of the books and life.  I was never really satisfied with fluff writing after that.  (Except for Patrick McManus, who doesn't really qualify as fluff because he uses incredible words that add to my vocabulary every time I read his work.)  I wanted MEATY reading!  Reading that was worth my time!  Material that I could chew on, discuss, examine and argue over!

I became the worst sort of book snob, too.
I waded into "claahhh-sics, daaahhh-ling" and non-fiction, and seldom looked back.
I was (and still am, I think) a dud at a cocktail party when it came to contemporary reads...especially fiction.
Picture me, standing with a group of women, holding my dirty martini and trying to figure out how to tie Les Miserables in to the Fifty Shades of Grey conversation...
(THIS is why I'm better at parties with football.)

Fortunately, all was not lost.
Even book snobs can be rehabilitated.
Yes!
One day, after finishing a particularly snooty conversation with my sister about my disdain for popular, contemporary fiction, she quietly (and wisely) pointed out to me: "Maybe there's a REASON everyone is reading it..."
You ever have one of those cast-iron-frying-pan-upside-the-head-humility moments?

I also have friends who require me to read contemporary books.  It's a mutual growth thing...I've opened up the world of non-fiction to them, they've lured me into contemporary (soft-cover, yet!) fiction, we sweeten the deal with wine and appetizers...

And THAT is how I ended up reading the book whose image you see at the top of this post.  It's THE most popular book in the U.S. right now, across the board, because men AND women are buying it and reading it, talking about it, gasping and so forth.  I own a hard cover copy.  Of the most popular contemporary book on the NYT bestseller list...!  (This is big, folks.  THIS is growth.)

I'm not going to give you a summary or review or anything.  It would be impossible, really.  This is what I want to say about the book:
Buy the hardcover, because the book itself is a work of art....foiled stars that glow in lamplight when you lay it aside to get another glass of wine, end papers that are copies of a real lighthouse keeper's log book, graceful font...it's a beauty.  Then, when you're done admiring it and congratulating yourself for purchasing such a pretty book, open it up and prepare to devote the rest of the day to living it; prepare to be raw and tender, even if you are a hardened, cynical reader like me.  Make sure you have a friend read it simultaneously, because you'll NEED to talk about it...you won't be able to help yourself.  Understand that you'll be thinking of it for days thereafter.

I recommend you also find yourself a good cocktail party, because you're gonna rock this time!