Literary Ramblings

Well last night at about 2:30, I finished a book. Not just any book. My all time favorite book. The World According To Garp by the great John Irving. This was I think the 5th or 6th time I have read it and I will read it many more times I am sure. I go through phases where I will just tear through a ton of books and then I won't read for what seems like forever. I am starting on one of those "tear through" phases I can tell and for some reason I wanted to read Garp again.
If you have never read Garp before, I can't begin to tell you what you have missed. It is a fantastic novel. I don't have the words to describe how much I love it. I know what is going to happen, yet I still get excited, angry, sad you name it when something does happen. I know that in those last 100 pages I will be furiously mad and in the last 30 I will cry like a baby. Happens everytime. I may be crazy (chances are high) but I wish so badly that I could sit down and talk with T.S. Garp and Helen Holm, Jenny Fields, Duncan Garp, Ellen James, Roberta Muldoon and so many more. I wish that I knew Garp but I feel like I do. There are not many good novels written anymore in my opinion. Everything is a crime drama, court drama or some romance poo. My favorite books are just about life and how it affects people. This is what is so GREAT about Garp. Life runs rampant through Garp and everyone elses life. Life and the Under Toad (you'll have to read it if you want to know )
I have come to the conclusion that I love books almost as much as music. That makes it almost fanatacism. There is almost nothing like losing yourself in a book. People have asked me why I would buy a book that I have already read. I think it's because when you really find a great book, you lose some of yourself in it. You become invested in the characters and their lives. I know I feel that way about Garp. I hurt when he hurts (which is a lot) but I cheer in his triumphs. Owning the book is like owning that small piece that you give away and being able to revisit it from time to time.
I have to run and watch a movie, but you should read The World According to Garp. I just might let you borrow my copy,