Getting Lost in A Story

Don't you just LOVE the experience of "getting lost" in a great story? I have to say it is a great feeling that I think is likened to that of an actor playing a particular character in a movie. I often wonder if everyone has been fortunate enough to experience this sensation. I am lucky to come from a family that loves to read and therefore I have been surrounded by a book atmosphere my whole life. From as far back as I can remember, I have had access to books - borrowing from family, friends, the library, and in this techno world we live in you can even borrow and lend books via a little device called an e-reader. (I Love My Kindle!) I have vivid memories of my sister loving to read so much that when our family would go to a drive-in movie (remember those?) she would bring books or comics to read before the movie started or during intermission. I would tease her but then I was asking if I could read them too.

Talking with my Dad he shares with me a story I have heard my whole life: I was 2 years old and we went to a party at a park with some friends of my parents. I went and sat by a bunch of other children and of course I was carrying my favorite book "The Owl and the Pussy Cat". (They never asked me why this was my favorite book) The other children gathered around me as I "read" them the story. One of the other Mom's, a good friend of my parents, said to my Dad "Wow, I didn't know she could read at her age!" My Dad replies: "She can't! She has memorized every word to the story and knows when to turn the pages." But the other children (and parents) thought I was reading because I knew everything by heart! (Maybe this was the beginning of a great acting career? hhhmmmmmm?)

This story just shows how important the impact of books has on children - I do know that when I was pregnant with my daughter, when I would read to her she would move around and as I like to say "react" to the story. The experience of reading to children is so fun! You can tell by the expressions on their faces that they are in the moment of the story and the anticipation of what is next. If you read with character inflection it makes the story more "real" for them and more enjoyable. (and just try not doing the voices next time you read - they will stop you and make you do it the right way!) I do remember that when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade my Dad told me the teachers called home to talk with my parents. . .they were concerned that I couldn't read to well and my father asked why? The teachers said that I was reading at a lower level than I should be (at my school we read by levels and not by age or grade). My Dad wasn't too concerned but asked my why I wasn't reading too much - I told him that I wanted to play instead - so he said the teachers think you can't read at your proper level.  Props to my Dad, he never did tell me to improve or do better - so I went back to school and started reading every chance I got and soon surpassed ALL the level available. (We had to test out of each level to move on). Well now the teachers told me to stop reading so much because they didn't have anything else for me to read - no one else had finished all the levels in the past.So I said "You guys said I should read more. . . so I did" - well what could they say? So I was put into a "speed reading class" for awhile. (I sure showed them! lol).

Here are a few books that I absolutely get "LOST" in. . . . .

The Thorn Birds is the first epic novel I can ever remember reading and I absolutely fell in Love with it. I'm sure it didn't hurt that Richard Chamberlain played Ralph de Bricassart in the made for TV mini-series. I did think it was slightly creepy that he knew Maggie (Rachel Ward, she's so beautiful - I hate her!) since she was a little girl. They developed a life long love and passion for one another and Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants, right? I was rooting for their love to survive all the trials and tribulations during their lives. Reading about life in the early twentieth century as an Irish farm laborer was very interesting and I could almost feel the heat described radiating from the book.

The Historian transported me on a journey to a post and modern day search for Dracula - Vlad the Impaler. I was immediately drawn into the story of a young woman who discovers secrets of her family's past connection to Dracula and a time-defying pact that may be keeping his awful work alive throughout the ages. Talk about suspenseful! And just like Bram Stroker's Dracula - it's what I call "intellectually scary " - not the slasher, gory, blood showing way it's done in today's movies but in the way of keeping things hidden and only reveling "just a hint or shadow" of the impending doom to come. Psychological Thriller's are way more scary! (ie: Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris)

The Lord of The Rings has to be mentioned just because! How can I call myself a true Tolkien-ite if I didn't mention it. J.R.R Tolkien is a complete genus!! Okay, the story itself is a work of art but think about it. . .here is a man who has an idea for a story; creates various  characters and not just human characters with complete backgrounds, an alphabet, a language, a map, and a world and then spends most of his life completing this work. Talk about dedication! I do plan on re-reading this book as it is quite lengthy and I know I missed things the first time around - I almost quit reading it the first time and my co-worker at the time kept encouraging me to keep reading. I think I took 2 or 3 months to finish - which is really long for me. I'm so glad I persevered.

I guess "getting lost" is a form of escape and even if just for a bit I really look forward to jumping into another time, place or world. I have even noticed that when I am nearing the end of a book that I am really enjoying I tend to stop and do something else just to prolong the ending of the story. I think I want to put off the inevitable emptiness that comes with the end of a great story. Whether it be I'll miss the characters or the story itself. (Is this what empty nest syndrome feels like?) So what are some of your favorite books to "get lost" in and why?