MY OLD FRIENDS WEEK...

I have created an Old Friends Week. I hope you will all join the fun. This weekend my husband was cleaning out our garage and he came across a box of books that had been stashed away for quite a few years. He was thrilled to find these books. He told me later that it was like getting in touch with some old friends again. That got me thinking about how I have a section of my book shelf that is just for old friends like these. You know what I'm talking about, books that you could never get rid of to a thrift store, or garage sale. These are books that you go to and just pick out parts to read over and over again. They bring you such comfort. I believe we all have these Old Friends in our book shelves and I think it would be a lot of fun to share with each other our Old Friends and why they mean so much to us. I have decided to go ahead and create a link picture you can post on your blog for this week or when ever you come across it. Just pick an Old Friend from your shelf everyday to share with all of us. Think of how all of our horizons will be broadened with new authors to investigate. It will be fun to see how many of us share the same Old Friends.

I am going to start with All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott. I would say this book is probably one of my oldest friends on my shelf. I found this book 33 years ago when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. I had such miserable morning sickness it was hard to function. Everyday I would put my 15 month old baby down for a nap and I would take that time to nap myself and read. My friend brought this book to me and insisted I read it. She just raved and raved about it. It looked good to me. It was a true story about the life of a vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930's. I love true stories and I love stories about animals. From the very first page I was hooked! I read the book twice before returning it and was happy to discover that the sequel All Things Bright and Beautiful was already published and the same friend had a copy. I devoured that book the same way and was so anxious for the the third book All Things Wise and Wonderful to be published. I was the first on the reservation list at our local library.

Over the last 33 years I have read and re-read these stories countless times. Every chapter is an individual story. These books have truly been my friends during happy times and dark times as well. When I need some happiness and grounding in my life I will just grab one of these off the shelf and go to bed with it. They have become an institution in our home, my children know the stories, they have read the books several times themselves and I believe most of them have their own copies. I am sure many of you have read these books as well. BBC has done a wonderful job of creating a series based on these books. Check these as well. Available on NetFlix. I would love to hear from you.