Contemplating, reading, imagining, and living various lives through the pages of books as verbalized by some notable authors…accompanied by lovely illustrations by the incomparable Norman Rockwell. What could be better on a cool autumn evening? I think I’ll light a few candles, brew a hot cup of tea, and do some reading myself…

Boy Reading of Adventure by Norman Rockwell

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. ~Oscar Wilde

Boy Reading from 1920 GE ad by Norman Rockwell

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. ~Mark Twain

Most Beloved American Writer by Normal Rockwell

In books lies the soul of the whole Past Time: the articulate audible voice of the Past, when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream. ~Thomas Carlyle

Books are one of the great loves of my life, first introduced to me at the knee of my mother and father, as they read to me day after day, and then serving as a faithful comfort in times of joy, turmoil, happiness and distress. They whisk me to other times and places and allow me to live vicariously through the characters and places they inhabit. It’s the only form of time-travel accessible on a regular basis (for all our interest in the activity as espoused by shows like Dr. Who and Outlander) How about you? Do books hold a special place in your life? Any favorite titles?