A Library of Lemons

So I'm reading Jo Cotterill's A Library of Lemons and it's unbearably sad and comforting and life affirming. It's made me sad and melancholy but in a good way.

I've been pretty stressed this week. I've been preparing for a project that launches this weekend, and I for one am delighted it is beginning. But I've let lots of things get to me, workwise and lifewise. I've been flat out and haven't listened to myself.

I feel as though I've been put on a fastwash several times in a row, once a day over and over and then hung out to dry in bright sunshine. I haven't slept well. But I've come home from work and read every night in an attempt to relax. And tonight it worked.

A library of lemons is the beautiful story of Calypso who lives in a cold detached house with her father and two libraries full of books. Calypso's mother died when she was young and her life has been altogether less happy since, as her father now works many, many hours in his study as a proof reader.

One day at school she encounters the new girl Mae, and an unlikely friendship begins. Both girls read stories as an escape and both love very similar books. I simply loved the references to books that I too had loved, like A Little Princess, and ones that are on my to be read list, like Rooftoppers. Mae and Calypso read stories to understand other people and emotions and escape from their lives. They remind me of me. I was reading their story as an escape.

And it made me consider just how much I love books, what would I do without books? I read everyday. The feel of a book in my hand is so instinctive, I brush my teeth reading, make tea reading and eat my lunch reading. I fall asleep reading, I'm that person who drops their book as they fall asleep and wakes themselves up with the gentle thud.

Cotterill's book has made me appreciate the simple act of reading and immersing myself in someone else's story all over again. And I'm now relaxed and happy again ready to tackle my shift at work tomorrow.

So that's all really, books fuel me.
So do people though, I am so worn out from work that I fear socialising and I now feel like I need to get out and see friends. If only my knees would work to allow me to!
But that's a story for another day.
Have a wonderful weekend,

Rebecca