Today is National Read a Book Day! So what book do you want to read today? Over the holiday weekend, I craved some comfort reading with all of the ongoing personal stress right now and found myself returning to Jane Eyre for the umpity-umpth time. The book has changed for me over the decades as I have changed, but I don't grow weary of it as I have with many other books that will remain nameless here today. Bonus that Jane Eyre counts as fairy tale reading for me with the overt Bluebeard references, too.
Jane Eyre and Jane Austen, comfort reads forever, I think. And on a related side note, if you haven't seen Love and Friendship yet, well, it's now available on DVD as well as streaming. Excellent movie!
So what fairy tale or folklore related title do you hope to read today? My stack is to the virtual rafters with little time allotted for fun reading today, so I think I may choose to read the book I've been hording for over a month, Beauty and the Beast by by Mahlon F. Craft (Author) and Kinuko Y. Craft (Illustrator). I've already seen most of the illustrations from the Beauty and the Beast 2017 Fairy Tale Wall Calendar, but I haven't read the book and explored all of the illustrations yet.
From National Day Calendar site:
NATIONAL READ A BOOK DAY
National Read A Book Day is observed annually on September 6th. On August 9th, we all celebrated National Book Lovers Day. While these bookish days may seem similar, National Read a Book Day invites us ALL to grab a book we might enjoy and spend the day reading.
Don’t keep it to yourself. Share the experience! Read aloud either to children or to grandparents. Read to your pets or to your stuffed animals and plants.
Reading improves memory and concentration as well as reduces stress. Older adults who spend time reading show a slower cognitive decline and tend to participate in more mentally stimulating activities over their lifetime. Books are an inexpensive entertainment, education and time machine, too!
HOW TO OBSERVE
Sit back, relax and read a book. Use #ReadABookDay to post on social media.
I've also heard it said that "Jane Eyre" resembles the tale of "Beauty & The Beast" - the innocent young Jane sent to live in a castle with the beastly Mr. Rochester and finding the gentleman underneath. By the way - have you ever read Charlotte Brontë's other masterpiece, "Villette". It's as great as "Jane Eyre", but far less known or read.
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