Reading

The Story Planted A Seed

Lynette M Burrows

Today, I wanted to share a very short essay on how reading can grow into something unique for each of us. I call it, The Story Planted A Seed. There was once a girl who read a story And it was as if the story planted a seed inside her. She nurtured the seed and it germinated.    The girl read many more stories And her imaginary garden blossomed with colorful, many-petaled, and sweet-scented ideas. The ideas grew and grew until she had so many seeds she had to plant her own. In the fertile ground of her imagination story flowers sprang up between rocks and weeds and choking vines. So she read books and books and books and she took classes and she did Immersion and she found mentors and she wrote. Ye, gods, she wrote hundreds of thousands of words. Something flowered inside…a jumble of ideas came together and grew into a new idea. She pruned and watered and fed the idea. The story grew and twisted and turned and wormed its way onto the pages And a book was born. And readers came and read her story. In the readers’ imaginings, a seed is planted and the reader […]

20 Reasons Why You Love Reading Dystopian Novels

Lynette M Burrows

Dystopian novels are very popular these days. Have you thought about why they are so popular? Why do we choose to be entertained by dark worlds where it’s kill or be killed? I have pondered those questions. In my research, I didn’t go to the psychiatrists and academic sites to find out why. I went to the readers. 20 Reasons Why We Love Dystopian Novels They feel honest because we know politicians, military people, and corporate moguls are capable of doing awful things. Dictatorship, revolution, and counterrevolution usually cause severe physical and psychological damage to the victims and other participants.  We admire the best dystopian novels because they’re written well and depict people we can relate to. It fascinates us how some characters react bravely and some react cowardly or with resignation to the terrible situations they face. As readers, we rubberneck to see the misery; we can’t avert our eyes even as we’re enraged by what despots and other vicious officials are doing to citizens. We wonder if rebels and other members of the populace can somehow remake a wretched society into something more positive. The questions of who will survive and who won’t keep us reading.  We might […]

Want A Little Magic In Your Life?

Lynette M Burrows

There’s something about magic. From card tricks to mind-bending disappearing acts magic fascinates everyone. Who wouldn’t want to be able to wave a wand, recite an incantation, or create a potion that will take his cares away? I confess I have an addiction to the television series, Charmed. But today I’m not talking about magic on the stage or magic on the television. If you want a little magic in your life all you need to do is open the cover of a book. The Magic of Books If you’re reading this, I’m betting you understand what I’m talking about. Reading opens your mind to learning and to places you’ve never been. Through a book, you’ll understand ideas and experiences that aren’t yours but somehow reveal yours to you. I’ve read hundreds of books. Yet, there are some that are clearer in my memory than others. Books that woke a bit of magic in me. Books that took me to places I’d never been.  Judging by the Seven books in Seven Days meme making the rounds on Facebook, there are many people who have felt that particular magic. The Magic of Recommendation Think about the books you’ve read. How many […]