A Good Book for Book Lovers

You are doing your friends and family a great favor when you recommend a book you really love. Some of my best loved books have been recommended to me by my friends.

I always ask them what they are reading and their opinion of the book. Frequently I will go right out and get the book. I have just finished reading a book written by Celestine Sibley who was a beloved reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution for many years. She covered the most talked about murders and court cases for the last 40 years and was known by practically everyone in the south. I admired her and have read many of her books. I had planned to read her book, “Turned Funny” for years but I had not when I ran across it in the Library last week. I could hardly put the book down until I had finished reading it. I sat and read until midnight and then didn’t want to interrupt the story. She was a remarkable woman and led a remarkable life. She was as down home as anyone in spite of mingling with presidents, dignitaries and Hollywood stars. She interviewed the most high and mighty and homeless people on the street. She felt equally at home with all of them. Celestine loved people and she made them feel loveable. She never earned much money but managed to keep her head above water with a mighty effort. She said in her book that she always earned much less than the males at the paper but would not ask for more money because she felt lucky to have the job and privileges she did. She bought a cabin in the country near Roswell Ga. that she called “Sweet Apple” and commuted every day to and from Atlanta on Marta.

As most people do, she had problems with her family. Her husband, an alcoholic died young. Celestine was left to raise three children. Her youngest daughter was pregnant at seventeen, and once when she went by her old home for a last look before moving to Roswell, she found her son sleeping on a mattress she had left there on the floor. Dirty and hungry, he had lost his job and had not told her. When her oldest daughter married Celestine had to scrape to give her a wedding. The photographer was a friend and didn’t charge for the pictures. A florist friend provided flowers for the small chapel. After the ceremony another friend ran to grab the flowers and take them to the reception room. Her daughter was ashamed to ride to the church in Celestine’s old beat up station wagon with the hood torn off. So an uncle who had a nice car drove them.

The pregnant daughter married her 17 year old boy friend and Celestine took them in. The baby died due to crib death syndrome. Celestine’s son was also with her and she moved them all with her to the cabin in Roswell.

Her beloved mother whom Celestine called “Muv” was always somewhere near in the background. She could and often did call on her mother in an emergency. Celestine was not as well dressed as “Muv” wished. She often had on her faded sloppy pants and tennis shoes. She loved wandering the woods and fields at Sweet Apple. Celestine loved to sit on a rock in the middle of the creek to write with her feet in the water. She was enraptured with the place and the freedom to be herself.

As you can see I loved this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good down home book. I also like to look back at books I’ve read years before. Sometimes I like them even better the second time around and sometimes I wonder why I ever liked the book in the first place.

Here are some sites that review upcoming books and subjects concerning books. I thought you might be interested in checking them out.

www.bloomsburyreview.com

www.pw.org/mag

www.publishersweekly.com

www.ruminator.com/hmr