Essentially...

Back at the beginning of the 2020 lockdowns, a reader wrote to thank me for the few hours of distraction my latest book had provided (love to get those kinds of e-mails!).  She concluded by saying “You are an essential worker, too.”  I was deeply touched and flattered, then somewhat astonished as more letters echoing that sentiment began to come in.    We all know what an important part of our lives books are, but essential on the same level as groceries and UPS deliveries?  I’d never really thought about it before.

As the global crisis wore on…and on…and on, I came to understand for myself just how essential books, and the people who write them, are.  They provide more than an escape when life spins out of control.  They provide engagement in times of isolation, friends in times of loneliness, hope in the face of despair.  They give us something to look forward to when it sometimes feels as though there is literally nothing else.

I recall a conversation many years ago with the librarian of our small town.  She agonized over having to go to the county commissioners in an effort to persuade them to give her money for the library that might otherwise go to essential services like the fire department or EMTs.  “I know they’re saving lives,” she said, “but I’m trying to save the things that make life worth living.”

I’d like to take this opportunity to salute all the books (and the writers who created them!) that made life worth living this past year. Like most of you, I read many more than can be listed here, but here are a few of the ones that really took me away from it all, the ones that were hard to put down and that I couldn’t wait to get back to—in other words, the perfect pandemic reading.  Maybe you’d like to check some of them out!

Devoted by Dean Koontz

No Exit by Taylor Adams

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

 Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Rumor by Leslie Kara

One by One by Ruth Ware

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Camino Winds by John Grisham

  Which essential books saved your sanity this past year?

 

Comments

Unknown said…
You are definitely required reading and an essential worker!
I discovered a New (to me author) and his series based in Scotland, Gerald Hammond.
The main character is a dog trainer/breeder in Scotland where there always happens to be a crime to solve. Sound familiar?
The Three Oaks Series:
1. Dog in the Dark
2. Whose Dog are you?
3. Doghouse
4.Give a Dog a Name
5. The Curse of the Cockers
6.Sting in the Tail
7.Mad Dogs and Scotsmen

I also have read Michael Connelly's The Law of Innocence
Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt
Damaging Evidence by Al Macy
The Guardians by John Grisham
Troublemaker by Leah Remini

The rest of my time is spent dancing and teaching dance classes or out with my dogs.
Stay healthy!

Jessica
Donna Ball said…
Love it! I will check these out. I also read SILENT BITE and THE GUARDIANS (forgot that one! Great book).

Popular posts from this blog

The Great E-Book Experiment: Results

By Any Other Name

One More Time