Of Turtles and Tales and Prize Number 2

So.  Here's a secret.  I have a lot of books.

There are books on the coffee table, books next to the bed, books by the bathtub, and a few left in random places like on the cellar stairs or on top of the puppy's crate.

But they are just the tip of the iceberg — decoys, as it were. Our old house in Connecticut, while big on lots of important things, such as acreage and horses, was deficient in other, equally important assets, such as charm and storage.  I was able to make this latter issue work to my advantage in at least one aspect– my book addiction.  Since we didn't have any real place to display books, I had them all over the place — in the one nice bookcase we owned, in tubs under the bed, on the coffee table, in my office, even in the barn.  (Nothing like reading in a horse stall on a rainy evening.)

When we moved to our new house, my husband had a surprise for me — a gorgeous, double-doored bookcase.   "Now," he said proudly, "You can have all your books in one place!"

Um.

I'd apparently hidden my addiction all too well, because only of a fraction of the books could fit. But the bookcase (that's how it's referred to — THE bookcase, as opposed to the children's bookcases (3) my office bookcases (2) the basement bookcase (1) and the old bookcase) does have an important role. It holds my favorite books, filed in alphabetical order.  These are the books I reread time and time again.  Some because I love the story so much I can't bear to have it end. Some because I am blown away by how real the characters are. Some because I'm amazed by the technical mastery, the way the writer creates a world out of nothing, and I read the story over and over to learn how to make my own writing better.

 

THE bookcase

 

This week, I'm giving away a book that does all of these things — Turtle Moon, by Alice Hoffman.  It is one of my favorites, and it has it all — an addictive storyline, a magical setting, and characters so heartbreakingly real you wish you could sit them down over coffee and straighten their lives out.  It's the kind of book I buy whenever I see in second-hand stores, to loan out to friends so my own copy never has to leave the house.

To win a brand-new copy, all you have to do is leave a comment by Wednesday telling me what your own favorite book is, and why.  (Bonus points if you include a story about it.) Ready? Go!