Books I used to love and books I now love...

An avid reader, I read at every possible opportunity and occasion. There will always be a book on my desk, in my bag or in my hand.

I used to love legal thrillers and have read all of John Grisham's works from legal to suspense to psychological genres. My favourite has to be 'The Firm' but it's not because Tom Cruise acted in its movie version. No sir, definitely not!

'The Firm' is my first John Grisham book; I came across it while in the States back in '92 when it just emerged fresh from the publisher's oven. I fell in love with Grisham's writing style and sharp insight into the legal world. As they say..............the rest is history.

I think we can all identify with the plot of being caught in a situation where everything seems too good and dandy to be true. When the crunch comes and we are caught between a rock and the deep blue sea....what do we do then? Do we take the easy way out or do we take the courageous way? Stifle your conscience or face the music and be true to yourself?

I also loved books by Joy Fielding and Sandra Brown. Women authors, it has been said, possess a more intuitive approach to women protagonists. They are able to draw upon their own lives, perspectives and weave their characters much like themselves with a myriad of underlying emotions and motivations.

But since my RCIA journey, I've stopped reading. For starters, I could not find the time to read. Secondly, I began to instinctively stay away from these works whose plots are choked full of malice, violence and deception.

My priest recommended us this book "Introduction to the Devout Life" by St Francis De Sales. Not one to read self-help books, biographies or non-fiction literature, I was however, hooked by this book from the first page! Written in the 16th century, this spiritual classic is so precise, compassionate, straightforward and modern, it seems to be speaking to me here and now!

Just recently, I also came across this book "A friend like Henry" by Nuala Gardner. It is a remarkable true story of how a boy and his family, lost in the world of severe autism saw the silver lining at their dark cloud when Henry, a golden retriever entered their lives. It is an inspiration how his parents never gave up trying to draw him into their world despite the challenges.....And all this happened in the 80s when autism was not widely recognised or accepted even in the western world.

Because I work with children, this book is very dear to me. We are seeing more children with autism these days because "mainstreaming" or 'inclusion" is encouraged for children who are high functioning and moderately social.

I'm taking my time with this book because it is so special. I believe all early childhood educators and parents should read it.