In times of uncertainty about where my life may be headed, I find solace in reading. Even when I  am certain about where I’m going, what I’m trying to accomplish, how I should proceed, I use much of my time daily sitting with my face in a book. I want to taste all that life has to offer. Books help me to do this.  Maybe my poem will give a better understanding of my love affair with bookstores and books.

 

In a Book

Blaring from the shop’s façade

A neon sign claims “OPEN”

Step in here; please search the

Shelves that cradle books for you

Revisit pain; life’s pride and purpose

Devour pages one-by-one

Eat words slowly—as you wish

Satisfy your long-held search for meaning

Books bound by fragile, wrinkled hands

Or joined by man’s devices

How little it may matter to a reader

Aching only for a sweet taste of wisdom

Lines fill with letters meant to squeeze

And ring their finest colors

Hear the soft, faint sounds of solitary breath

Collected vapors singing— in a book

Yesterday I finished reading Alice Hoffman’s The Story Sisters that came out in 2009. What took me so long? Hoffman’s writing is superb, and I am a big fan of her novels. This one did not disappoint. It’s more than a thematic story about navigating motherhood, sisterhood, and daughterhood, and I got so caught up in their lives I am sad to have finished the book.

 

That happens to me a lot. I find myself missing the characters when the story comes to an end. This is one of the things I consider magical about reading. But I don’t solely consume novels.

Alice Hoffman website: http://alicehoffman.com

I recently read A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by the former director of the FBI, James Comey. Aside from being defensive and somewhat self-serving about how he came to his decision to disclose that the FBI was reviewing more Hillary Clinton emails 11 days before the presidential election,  it is full of details about the time Comey was a career prosecutor helping to dismantle the Gambino crime family. He deftly makes the analogy between the Mafia bosses and our current president.

What does it mean to be an ethical leader? This kind of leadership is what drives sound decisions.  Comey admits his faults and failures, and discusses painful events in his personal life (his son Collin died from strep infection at 9 days old in 1995.) as well as his professional life– his role as FBI director,  his service as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as the U.S. deputy attorney general in the administration of President George W. Bush. His is an enlightening book that helped me understand Comey as a man, and how being an ethical leader is more important than ever.

Here’s a short bio of James Comey from the internet: https://www.biography.com/people/james-comey-051217

I’m never without a book. I usually pack one in my purse when I go out, just in case I have a minute for reading. How about you?

Here’s the advice I always gave my students once upon a time:

Never judge a book by its movie.