Bonus coverage

Or something like that.

Those of you who know me know I like to read. I've learned that potential books can be found almost anywhere. Two of the most recent books I've read have come from radically different places.

First is "A Garden to Keep" by Jamie Langston Turner. Mrs. Turner was my creative writing teacher in college, and I loved her class. Our in-class work included creating on the spot, which, while challenging, is also a lot of fun. My class met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which meant it was 90 minutes. One of the assignments was to give directions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Mrs. Turner took what we had written and followed it to the letter. So, those who said to cover a piece of bread with peanut butter saw her literally cover a piece of bread with peanut butter. It was kind of messy but quite effective. I think her point was to make sure that what we said was truly what we meant.

For another assignment, she wrote a list of names on the board (a chalkboard for those of you who know what that is) and told us to choose one and write a character description of that person. I chose "Dexter English" and wrote about a 10-year-old boy. I don't remember all the details, but he seemed like an interesting little guy. Mrs. Turner wrote on my paper that Dexter was actually a girl she had known in elementary school.

I think my favorite assignment, though, came while we were talking about science fiction. That day she wrote a list of questions on the board and had us answer them, creating the bones of a potential scifi story. I wish I could find mine. They may be in a box somewhere. I remember writing as fast as I could, abbreviating everything that could possibly be abbreviated so I could put more notes on the page. Mrs. Turner was impressed, I think, commenting that my mind must be like a computer. No, Mrs. Turner, I was/am just very familiar with science fiction and its tropes.

Second is "The Witness" by James Jauncey. I heard about this book on Thistle and Shamrock, a weekly radio program on NET Radio. Jauncey, apparently, is a musician as well as an author. He and his band only get together once a year, but they still record stuff. Fiona Ritchie, program hostess, had Jauncey read excerpts from his book, mainly sections that included music, and then talk about them. Then she would play a song that was similar to what was described or one that was written by one of Jauncey's friends as part of the book's "soundtrack." I thought that in itself was pretty cool. And the pieces of the book I heard sounded like it might be something I'd like. So, I set out to find it. Our library didn't have it, but interlibrary loan is a wonderful thing. I got a copy from Rockford, Illinois.

And then there are my old favorites - books by Stephen Lawhead, Anne Perry, Bernard Cornwell and others. There's always something waiting in the wings to be read with characters waiting to be met and places to be visited. The infinite possibilities that wait between the covers of a book - really, what more do you want?