Recuperation Through Reading

It has been almost two and a half months since my surgery and I feel great! The relief was instantaneous. In fact, as soon as I woke up from the anesthesia, I knew the surgery was a success. It was difficult to make the decision to go under the knife but it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I feel like I've been given my life back. Health is something that most people take for granted and not much thought is given to it until there's something wrong. In a way I am grateful for what I've gone through with my back injury because it made me appreciate just being able to go about my day without any pain.

My recuperation went pretty well, although it was difficult to do much because I wasn't really allowed to sit for more than a few minutes at a time; I had to either lie down or stand. I went for walks every day as part of my rehabilitation but sitting was kept to a bare minimum in order to keep pressure off the spine. I also wasn't allowed to drive for three weeks. Thus, I spent a lot of time lying around with my canine companion, Baxter.

Although it was good to have the time to take it easy and let myself heal, the downside was that I wasn't able to do much in the way of art projects. However, I did what any self-respecting lover of books would do: I caught up on my reading. The following are my top three recommendations out of all the books I read while recuperating.

The World According to Garp by John Irving
I am ashamed to admit that The World According to Garp was my first foray into the world of John Irving. At a pre-surgery dinner with my well-read aunt, the talk turned to books, as it often does, and my aunt's jaw dropped when John Irving came up and I admitted I hadn't read any of his work. She insisted I read Garp and her recommendations are always spot on.

Garp was a good read for so many reasons. First of all, the characters are idiosyncratic and endearing. Their situations are strange and they sometimes act in a humorous and unbelievable manner. But the characters are so human despite all this, the story is believable.  Secondly, since the title character is a writer, Irving manages to successfully weave the character's own short fiction into the narrative, making the book all the more rich with literary layering of story within story.

I devoured this one in just a few short days and I think it goes on the list of all-time favorites for me. I'm sure to delve into some more John Irving in the near future.

The Roald Dahl Omnibus by Roald Dahl

Most folks are familiar with Roald Dahl because of his many popular children's books including The Witches, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda. Probably my fondest library memories (and what I would pinpoint as the major reason for my becoming a librarian) are of my trips to the library with my grandma during summer vacation. On one such trip I chose a copy of Matilda and spent the rest of the afternoon sprawled on Grandma's couch, reading the book from cover to cover. I had always loved to read but this was the first time I felt myself disappear completely into a fine work of fiction.

When I cracked open The Roald Dahl Omnibus, I expected to find a collection of stories for children, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was instead a collection of short fiction geared toward adults. These stories were nothing like any short fiction I've read before. They were delightfully old-fashioned and the characters were quirky. Dahl showcases his talent for developing characters who, on the surface seem ordinary, but as the plot unfolds, it is reveled that they are anything but. Even better are the often dark and humorous twists that come about it each of these tales. 

The Terror by Dan Simmons
I've been meaning to read this particular book for over four years. I bought it while on vacation in Portland, Oregon at Powell's Books. I'm picky about what I read, in that I won't enjoy something unless I'm really in the mood to read it right then. I knew if I cracked open this massive tome before I was ready, I wouldn't appreciate it. But, since I was laid up for a while, the time seemed perfect to dig into this 766 page behemoth.

The Terror is a tale of two British ships that set sail on an expedition to discover the Northwest Passage. The voyage stretches on for years longer than expected and the stress and strain take their toll. The combination of treacherous weather conditions and dwindling supplies would be more than enough hardship for one adventure of the arctic seas, but add a massive, unpredictable snow beast and you've got yourself a real page turner. 

Those six weeks of reading and worrying about nothing other than taking care of myself were pretty glorious but, as they say, all good things must come to an end. I had to go back to work a few weeks ago. It's nice to be earning a steady paycheck again but I go home at the end of the day exhausted and able only to lie on the couch and watch Jeopardy. How easy it was to stay safely at home and be leisurely! Anyway, when I get my strength and stamina back I will embark on some new projects.  I have started to draw on my days off and I've got all sorts of little projects floating around in my head, so I hope that, as I get used to working forty hours a week again, my body will adjust and I'll have the energy to execute some of these projects soon.