Book Characters

I am only a couple of chapters into Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings. Recommended and loaned to me by my friend Helen with rave reviews, I dug in at some of my stops along the slough on Saturday. This was a new method of reading for me. Usually, I pop a squat on my couch or in a cozy chair and read, but I left for the slough Saturday morning, alone. I hadn't been on a nature walk by myself in quite some time, so I backed a small sling backpack with a jug of water, a couple of clementines, my journal, and the book which I hadn't started yet. Knowing I was on my own schedule, I wanted to free myself to do whatever nature wanted me to do. I found that every 10-15 minutes while walking the boardwalk, I would have the urge to stop. Either an area began to crowd with people and noise, or I just wanted to sit and enjoy the quiet solitude in one area of the slough. Each time, I would take off my sack, pull out my book and journal, and take a swig of water. I would read a chapter or two, write in my journal, and then keep going. I tell you what, if you ever need a quiet place to study, out in nature is a good way to disconnect. It was completely relaxing.

Throughout my walk, I read about 5 or 6 chapters, and I love the book already. One of the greatest gifts of a good book, is a character you just fall in love with before you even know where the book is headed. I'm not talking romantic love. I'm talking a character you latch onto right away because of the words breathed through her by the author, or the actions he takes and experiences right in the beginning of the book.  Such is the case with Hetty and Sarah. I was overcome with golden lines just in the first 10 pages. I've included a few of the below. I can't wait to read more this weekend, and follow their friendship throughout the book. And it's only Tuesday.

Bad spirits travel in straight lines, and our tree didn't have one crooked place. Hetty

This line struck me as timely. I read it only minutes after I heard the tour guide at the slough telling her group about nature and straight lines. See yesterday's post.

Everyone thought I was a plucky girl, but in truth, I wasn't as fearless as everyone assumed. Sarah

I feel ya, Sarah. Sometimes those of us who have it together on the outside are trembling inside. And I just love the word plucky!

Why should G-d's perfection be based on having an unchanging nature? Isn't flexibility more perfect than stasis? Sarah

Smart ideas for an 11-year-old girl, especially in the early 1800's! And for the record, I agree.