Do you ever hit one of those lulls where you're not sure what book to pick up next?
There are days and weeks when I fall into that, but I'm finding that my Friday list has helped me to narrow down books by genre, which has kept things interesting. At the same time, I like the freedom that comes with picking something up quite unexpectedly. There have been many occasions where I have seen something that piqued my interest and upon discovering whether it was available, getting into that book right away.
Other times though? As much as I love reading, getting over the first page is sometimes the biggest hurdle after finally deciding what to read. One step back, and it's choosing which book to immerse myself in first.
A thought that has come to my mind has been whether some books are meant to read at just the right time, and not a moment sooner or later. While there are certainly titles that I wish I had discovered earlier, I find that if there is something I am going through, God can sometimes nudge me through exactly the right story or words. This has happened a few times now, where I have seen myself in an identical situation that fictional characters are facing, and I can't help but wonder what lessons I am meant to learn from hearing or seeing the same thing repeated.
One instance that I always recall was when I started a book shortly after losing my job near the beginning of the pandemic. This was truly a unique experience where I was expected to work out my notice period (this has not happened to me before nor since this time). Since I would forfeit my notice pay and severance without engaging in work that I knew would be ending, I felt like I was stuck in a limbo.
Funny enough, around that same time, I had ordered some books by Kaye Dacus off eBay that I remembered reading in college. Since I had read the Brides of Bonneterre series but not her second Matchmakers series, I figured I would attempt to find some local copies. Unfortunately, the library did not carry the third book in the series so after a quick online search, I saw that I could get both of these series (6 books!) for the same cost of one book. That made it worthwhile as I had already read the other five books. When the books arrived, I figured I would save this last book for later in the year.
After a prompting that I should pick up this book, I realized that one of the characters was going through the exact situation I was going through! One of my favourite passages from this book is still:
Maureen reached for one of the cookies and dunked it in her tea. Her grandson's voice had started mellowing under the effects of the chocolate cookies with crushed toffee candy inside. "Your job ends today?"
"Next Friday." He squinched his face in a sardonic expression. "I still have month-end reports to finish and expenses and mileage reimbursements to request and other paperwork to finish before I can be officially released from work. Talk about adding insult to injury. I can't even use getting laid off as an excuse to get out of month-end reports."
He pushed back the plate, still holding two cookies, and once again pressed his face to the table. "I hate my life."
- Turnabout's Fair Play by Kaye Dacus, p. 27
I believe that if I had read this story before my layoff that I might have chalked this snippet up to merely being humourous. After my layoff though, a whole world of difference. I suppose that authors don't really know the full extent of how their stories will touch readers' lives, but I am glad that God can bring anointing and joy through authors' words. This touch of levity was exactly what I needed where I still reference this passage when I need a reminder of that season in my life.
I was laid off from my dream job (or at least I thought so at the time) in August 2008, a few months before my first book, Stand-in Groom, released and right as the economy was crashing. I never personally worked through those emotions until I wrote Turnabout a few years later. I'm so happy to learn that it helped you to read my way of dealing with the emotions of my layoff experience. That's why writers do what we do. Because we know in our hearts that there is someone out there, somewhere, who might one day read our story and connect with it in a special way!
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and to share the back story of Turnabout. I remember 2008 being a volatile time, and I'm sorry that you experienced a layoff as well. I'm truly grateful that you captured those emotions in a book that God prompted me to read. The story was indeed very special!
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