In a life filled with bookish treasures, is it really accidental, or even serendipitous when we stumble upon books we’ve been drooling over? Or books by our favorite authors that we didn’t know about?
Not really…
I think we’ve set our course from the time we first lost ourselves in books.
At Snow Sparks today, we’re celebrating themes, and also bookish characters we love.
In the challenges I’ve chosen for this year, I’m exploring eclectic reading choices…which is how I stumbled upon a free book yesterday.
Yes, classics are often free when they’re e-books, and I downloaded one that will fulfill my classics genre for this challenge.
The Secret Garden is one I missed in childhood, so I downloaded this one…free!
And while I was visiting blogs yesterday…or maybe the day before, I discovered one from a favorite author from way back in the day; and with just a couple of clicks at Amazon, this one is wending it’s way to me.
Dance the Eagle to Sleep, by Marge Piercy, is a story ripped right out of my time. The Seventies.
Originally published in 1970, Marge Piercy’s second novel follows the lives of four teenagers in a near-future society as they rebel against a military draft and “the system.” The occupation of Franklin High School begins, and with it, the open rebellion of America’s youth against their channeled, unrewarding lives and the self-serving, plastic society that directs them. From the disillusionment and alienation of the young at the center of the revolt to their attempts to build a visionary new society, the nationwide following they gain, and the brutally complete repression that inevitably follows, this is a future fiction without a drop of fantasy. As driving, violent, and nuanced today as it was 40 years ago, this anniversary edition includes a new introduction by the author reflecting unapologetically on the novel and the times from which it emerged.
How did I miss this one back then?
Was it serendipity that I discovered it? The blog I visited was celebrating another of Piercy’s books, which led me to the author page…and you know the rest.
This week I received a book written by Beth Gutcheon, another favorite author, and in exploring her author page, found one I’d missed.
Good-Bye and Amen is a sequel to Leeway Cottage, which I’ve read.
Yes, the reviews say this sequel is “disappointing,” but I’m taking a chance on it anyway.
Do you ever find yourself starting at Point A and ending up somewhere else…and wondering what led you there? Serendipity? Fate? Magic?
SERENDIPITY 
I am tempted to fill my Kindle with those free classics. Actually, I told my husband I needed a second Kindle for them! ;o)
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Yes, another Kindle would be perfect! Thanks for stopping by, Nise.
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