Sometimes I wonder how many people are actively filling their time with the art of writing.
So many people are spending years on writing the “great American novel,” suspense dramas, etc. I feel sad when I look at the sales tables at the bookstores, supermarkets and box stores where thousands of books with millions of words are to be had for a mere couple of dollars. Someone, somewhere has worked hard on those books.
I love to browse through piles of books and have been known to leave with my arms full of obscure novels, and quite often am pleasantly surprised by some of my $2 purchases.
Of course, I can’t help but also buy the latest publications. It is an addiction, and my living room floors are starting to sag from the weight of my books because I simply cannot part with any of them.
Some books I have read twice or even three times. The joy of curling up and, in total silence, immersing myself in another world is the best spa treatment for me. Even therapists are now recommending reading as a good way to get out of your own world and direct your brain to another. Leave your troubles behind and exchange them for someone else’s, or transport yourself to exotic places and mingle with people you would not meet in your own life.
One of the most successful novelists of all time, along with Shakespeare and Agatha Christie, is Charles Dickens. His Tale of Two Cities alone has sold more than 200 million copies. A Christmas Carol, by Dickens, is an all-time favourite. The tale of the odious, miserable Ebenezer Scrooge gives us all hope that a person we know, or have known, of a similar disposition might be capable of changing.
The Sicamous Amateur Drama Club will be putting on a stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol, a dramatic reading version, i.e. no sets, but the actors will be in costume. The show will run Friday, and Saturday, Dec. 6 and 7, at 8 p.m. (doors open 7:30), and Sunday at 2 p.m. (doors open at 1:30 ). Tickets are $5 and include hot chocolate and cookies, and are now available at Eagle Valley Pharmacy.