Scrolling in search of the next book to read on an upcoming flight, my right thumb becoming numb, I came to a screeching halt on Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May.
This, I nodded approvingly to myself, thinking of all the exhausting change that 2024 has brought. This may be just the medicine my soul needs right now.
Many of the changes life has brought throughout the year are positive ones, but even good change requires a period of adjustment. The not-so-good changes, even more so.
I clicked the Kindle sample download and examined the Table of Contents, organized in chapters by the seven cold months of the year starting in October and ending in Late March. I read the reviews on Goodreads and delved into the sample text, asking at each decision point whether this would be the best investment of my time and cognitive energy – since both are forever fleeting.
After finishing the sample, I knew this was the book for me. I downloaded the full book.
I realize I’ve struck book gold when I find a book that has me hanging on each sentence, savoring its power and meaning as I apply it to my life and feel the peace it brings. Each thought, it seems, fits like a glove when I’ve found the right book for the right time. It’s like a medicinal salve, like Candy Cane chapstick on parched lips whipped sick by the wind.
All at once, my breathing deepens and my heart slows from its racing pace. I feel my tongue stop pressing against the roof of my mouth in its usual stress-pressure position. My shoulders drop and my neck muscles loosen. I read May’s soothing words as I consider the approaching winter break:
“Winter is when I reorganize my bookshelves and read all the books I acquired in the previous year and failed to actually read. It is also the time when I reread beloved novels, for the pleasure of reacquainting myself with old friends….In winter, I want concepts to chew over in a pool of lamplight—slow, spiritual reading, a reinforcement of the soul. Winter is a time for libraries, the muffled quiet of book stacks and the scent of old pages and dust. In winter, I can spend hours in silent pursuit of a half-understood concept or a detail of history. There is nowhere else to be, after all.”
And in this, I can rest with full hope and anticipation that the gas logs and my heated throw will bring needed warmth. My dogs will bring peace and deep comfort as they vie for snoozing position next to me, and my books will bring the golden silence and space my heart needs as I sip a cup of honeyed hot tea and reread: …. there is nowhere else to be, after all.
My next book will be Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton. What will you be reading, dear friend, in the sweet, snug nook of home, in the nestled bliss of nowhere else to be?
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Common Threads 