The Savannah Reader

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a reader. I love to get lost in another world, another reality. With that in mind, however, it is very sad that until now I have never felt the need to branch out beyond books and authors that I have known for years. I mean, sure, I did venture out on occasion and expanded my limited library, but those trips were always short lived. I always returned to my comfortable little well-read haven. I honestly don't know what it was that kept me so reserved when it came to reading. Maybe a fear of the unknown, maybe comfort in the familiar, maybe simply that I did not have the time to devote to new books or authors, being that I was in school while working full time and needed to focus my energies and most of my spare time on school work. Whatever the reason though, I am ashamed to admit that I have been alive for 27 years and still have not read many of the tried and true classics or touched upon many an author's hard works.

Why didn't I read many of them in high school? you might be wondering. Well, the answer is simple. I did not go to a school that was interested in the classics the way nearly every other school in the United States is. I went to a public school in a suburb of Atlanta, and while they did choose interesting books for their high school students to read, Tom Sawyer and Moby Dick were not on the lists. What classics I did read were usually brief anthologized snipits taken from our textbooks. In college, I simply had too much on my plate to revisit the works of the greats unless they were on my course syllabi, so I reserved any free time I had to give myself a "brain break" and reread those in my personal library.

I recently found (with the help of some online friends) a nifty little website called PaperBackSwap.com (Click here for site homepage). This site not only allows me access to an entire country's worth of home libraries, containing thousands upon thousands of titles, many of which I never would have found otherwise, but it has happily awakened the hardcore reader within me. Now that I am out of school and not forced to read for grades, I have found a renewed interest in the books that I should have read a long time ago, books that I hope my children will read early in life so that they can use the wisdom held in their pages for their own experiences and studies. I currently have a list of 20 titles in my To Be Read (TBR) pile and 155 titles in my Reminder List (RL) pile. There are many, many more that I want to add, but after my stack at home reached an alarming height, I decided to put book hunting on hold and begin the long, luxurious process of reading. The books in my TBR and RL piles are a combination of classics and contemporary titles in many different genres that have either interested me for a very long time, or that have recently piqued my interest due to a good review or a friend's recommendation.

And so, in order to document the books that I have read and my interpretations on them I decided to start this blog. I am also hoping (as any literary blogger does) that anyone who reads these reviews will find a new (or renewed) interest in books and perhaps pick up one that I have recommended.

Keep in mind though, that opinions will differ and my take on a book will not necessarily be the same as yours. I do welcome comments on any and all reviews that I post, as these will help other avid readers choose books to add to their own TBR piles. However, please remember to be courteous and constructive when posting comments. Any criticisms of either the book or my reviews must have a literary foundation and documentation to back up your points. I reserve the right to delete any comments that are negative just for the sake of being negative.

With that said, I begin my journey into the world of literature! I hope that you will join me and enjoy it as much as I will! Happy Reading!!!