A Room for Reading

Posted by Melissa Howard Jun 11, 2008

Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have a desk like this in my parlor and white walls and a clean green blotter every Saturday night and a row of shining yellow pencils always sharpened for writing and a golden-brown bowl with a flower or some leaves or berries always in it and books . . . books . . . books. . . .Betty Smith

Reading is a wonderful escape. An escape so delicious that people imagine special rooms or situations for escaping into.

I love the idea of a roaring fire, in a cozy room lined with shelves, and with over-stuffed furniture pulled into a semi-circle in front of the fire with a large-low table with stacks of books at center-stage. A large glass of iced-tea would be leaving pools of condensation on whatever coaster I place it on and I would have a lap blanket for days when I want to feel cozy.

Mostly I read at the kitchen counter with a large glass of iced-tea leaving wet-spots all over the counter. The kind of spots that I forget to wipe up, which later soak into the mail that I throw on the counter or the recipe that I am experimenting with.

Like Jo, we all find our way to enjoy our books even if our dreams never come true.

This was Jo's favorite refuge, and here she loved to retire with half a dozen russets and a nice book, to enjoy the quiet and the society of a pet rat who lived near by and didn't mind her a particle. Louisa May Alcott