Let's Do the Time Warp Again!

One of my favorite things to do is to read. I love getting into a new book, wondering where it will go, how long it will take to get there and what kind of drugs the author took while writing the book. Well, not for every book, but sometimes you wonder…

My favorite fiction, bar none, is by a relatively new author, Audrey Niffenegger, the genius who penned Time Traveler’s Wife. This book is the best book ever written. It is captivating, humorous, enticing, thought-provoking, sweet, suspenseful and hopeful all at the same time. I could write a review detailing the greatness of this work of art, but I’ve found that David Abrams has already done it, so I let him do all the work. Click on the link to get a quick overview of the story and why it is so worth your time.

Let’s Do the Time Warp Again

I will give you a straight out warning here and now: Have a FULL Kleenex box beside you and pick a time to read when you will have no interruptions. You will not want to put it down, especially when you are close to the end. Truly you will care about Henry and Claire by the end of the book. When I read the book in record time (hey, I have 2 kids, worked full time and am active in way too many things and I still read the book in a day. I really could not put it down!), I was still thinking about it months after reading it. THAT is a mark of great literature – a book about which you cannot quit thinking.

It’s an “owner.” You know what I mean; something that is so good, you must have it on your shelf so that when you are ready to look at it again, you will have it on hand. I’ve got my autographed copy highlighted in a spotlight in the living room and every time someone walks by it emits a mystical aura along with beautiful cathedral-like a cappella music (think Vienna Boys Choir), enticing me to pick it up and enjoy it again… for a third time. Okay all that is in my head, but I feel as if I have found the holy grail of literature.

I worked at Barnes and Nobles when the book was released. I read it the day it was shelved. By the next day, I was recommending it to everyone who came into the store and showed an interest in fiction. Not one person returned to tell me that they didn’t care for it. As a matter of fact, they usually came back to talk about it and to find out what else I recommended.

Oh, that reminds me of a true story:

In 2004, Mr. Right surprised me with a trip to Eureka Springs for my birthday. While waiting for a table at a romantic little Italian bistro, three couples came into the sitting room also. I kept looking at one of the girls, thinking that I’d seen her somewhere before. We started talking to them to pass the time, asking all the general stuff: how long have you been here, where are you from, what do you do.

It turned out that they were also from Kansas City. I regale to the one girl that she looked familiar to me and I had been trying to place where I had seen her. She replied that she felt the same familiarity. She asked where I worked. When I said Barnes and Noble, her jaw dropped. She turned to her friends, pointed to me, and yelled, “This is the girl I was talking about on the way down here!”

Now this statement could be taken as a good thing or a bad thing. Seeing as it was my birthday, I was hoping for good.

She had been talking to her friends about how she had met someone at B & N who knew her stuff, who had great recommendations and who handed her the best book she had ever read. Then she turned to me and asked what else I had to recommend. Of course I had an immediate list to rattle off to her because reading was my thang. All three girls were all jotting down the titles by the time we were called to be seated.

Call me vain, but that was one of the best birthday presents God has ever given me. I still smile about it.

So, read it and tell me what you think. I’d love to know your thoughts too.