Summer officially arrives on Saturday, but the heat and humidity have already unpacked their bags, and they’re here to stay.
The irony is that I am reading a book called Winter’s Tale, which is the very epitome of a tome, weighing in around 750 pages. It’s an epic tale that makes me feel like I’m working out my brain and my muscles (simply because I am trying to hold all 750 pages in front of my face for long periods of time.) The reason I’ve been working out my brain while reading this novel is because it is one of those rare books that not only contains several new vocabulary words for my digestion on every page, but these vocabulary words actually make me want to look them up. It’s good when you can’t get around a word in a book. When knowing the meaning of that one word means that you will understand the entire tone and intent of the author. Most books I can just infer and context clue my way around, but this one has challenged me. It’s difficult, and I like it.
The reason I’m drawing your attention to this specific book is that, since Bailey Dailey is now in full swing, I’m also updating the “What I’m Reading” section of my blog, and Mark Helprin’s work will be my first focus. It’s a little difficult because my pace is usually about a book a week if I’m not too busy, but I want to continue to highlight one special book a month that has really caught my attention and is one that I want my people to know about. (That’s you. You’re my people.)
And vice versa! If you read something that I should know about, please tell me! Drop a line or a comment, and I’ll pick it back up.
Okay, so I know I’m a little late to the party with Winter’s Tale. Actually, we all are. The movie for Winter’s Tale was produced in 2014, but the book was published in 1983. Maybe we were waiting for the technology to advance or maybe we were waiting for the hunky Colin Farrell to hit puberty and play Peter Lake. At any rate, this is a damn good book, and I am sure the movie will be likewise. Granted, Helprin is a bit heavy-handed with the adjectives and descriptions, which probably accounts for the 700 page extension, but he gets the job, occupation, career, objective, and goal done. (No, seriously. This is occasionally how some of the paragraphs read. But what’s a little overkill among friends?) Hemingway he is not, but he doesn’t pretend to be, either. He just wants to tell a good story.
I laugh sometimes because at its origin, Bailey Dailey was supposed to be a book blog. I was supposed to update daily with my favorite reads, quotes, or fictional characters. However, as I’ve said before, I’m not able to limit myself to one idea. Although, I am glad that there are niche bloggers out there, because where else would I get my fix for “things organized neatly” or even “horrible grammar mistakes seen around town”? A niche blogger I am not. But I read good books, and I am happy to share my findings with you. So, keep checking back every month for your summer, winter, fall, and spring reads. And pick up a Winter’s Tale now. Right now, I could use a little chill…
Bailey Dailey 