What did the librarian say on September 6?

Happy National Read A Book Day!

What is your favorite book? It's a joke among bibliophiles that we can never pick just one. We tend to go by genre or series or author. My favorite classic, my favorite mystery, my favorite YA, my favorite book made into a movie.

Not!

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There are many ways you can celebrate Read a Book Day. Last year grammarly.com posted a few suggestions on their blog to mark the day. My favorite suggestion is to host a book exchange. I am part of a contingent of women that gather twice a year for just such an occasion. We share food and friendship for half and hour or so, and then we share books we have enjoyed since the last book exchange.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt made the rounds for more than one season. One woman would take it, and she would bring it back the next time to share again with someone else. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig was another one. Right now I have Stiff by Mary Roach and The Way We Talk Now by Geoffrey Nunberg, waiting to be returned to the rotation. Both of those are non-fiction if you prefer that genre.

Some books I own I would never add to the table, though. The Gauntlet by James H. Street was published in 1945, and the copy I own is covered in the rough burlap common of books of the era. It's a sweet story of a Baptist minister who arrives, young and untried, and newly married, in a small Missouri town. Between conflicts among the women's group, long deacons meetings, and a wife who likes kumquats, he learns valuable and conflicting lessons about small town, and small church, life. It's still in print. You can buy your own; I'm not giving up mine!

One book I gladly give away -- over and over again, but always retain a copy for myself -- is Savvy by Ingrid Law. It is intended for intermediate readers (grades 4-6 or so), but that hasn't stopped me from reading it more than once. I used to read it to my fifth and sixth graders, and they would roll their eyes when I started to cry. Every time. Don't read it if you have any pride. Or at least not in public.

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Well, now. I've given you many choices for what to read on this glorious national holiday, but perhaps you have suggestions of your own! Share them with other Life and Thought Readers. We'll have a virtual book exchange. Post pictures, too.

You can even share your favorite book turned into a movie. We won't judge!