Welcome to a love letter, a monthly publication from artist, writer and yoga teacher Colby Mackenzie featuring stories of my loving practices and support for yours. Thanks for being here.
Reading is my oldest pastime. My original solace. I became an avid reader at a young age, in he early 90’s before the digital world entered the childhood one. These were the days of VHS tapes, kickball at the dead end of our street, and making up imaginary games with my sister. When alone, my greatest entertainment was fiction. The Animorph series, Goosebumps, the Babysitter’s Club, the Narnia books. My favorites were fantasy - made up worlds where the physically impossible became real. I followed characters deep beneath the ocean, discovered with them witches and magical potions. It was a boon for the imagination and fiction is still my favorite genre to read.
Books are not only portals but friends, companions. They have always been a safety blanket for me - if I had a book with me then somehow everything would be alright. I brought a stack of my favorites with us on the road and have picked up several on our path, unable to resist the $1 used paperbacks at various bookstores.
Since I’ve now filled up the allotted (very large) creativity container I lug arouund with us with books and my morning pages journals, I’ve been relishing in the multitudes of bound words contained in the Sedona Public Library.
A few weeks ago I checked out 11 works of fiction - some novels, some collections of short stories. I was nervous walking to the checkout counter - surely this was gluttonous or selfish on some level. I had to be above the item threshold.
I plunked the books down and waited for the man to say I had too many. He didn’t bat an eye. I asked how many items someone could check out at one time.
“Fifty.” He said.
Ah, the endless, selfless generosity of a public library.
These are a few that I’ve read or have been lusting after, should you also enjoy letting your imagination run wild:
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, one of my favorite fantasy writers. Of all her books I’ve read so far, this one is my favorite.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson for an old-timey adventure and classic characters.
Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings, the inspiration for the hit show Killing Eve.
Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway for scenes of picturesque French waters and a little sexual scandal.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy - bleak, brutal, and beautiful.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter for gorgeous Mediterranean scenes and family drama.
Island Time by Georgia Clark, an easy beach read with loveable characters and queer romance.
Salina: The Three Exiles by Laurent Gaude (translated from French), perhaps one of my favorite books of all time. Short, ancient, exquisite.
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. (If you ever want a chance a beginning to understand the Russian culture, or if you simply like gorgeous character narratives and stunning phrases of landscape, of history, consult the Russian novelists).
I could go on and on, but it’s dinner & a movie time with my bubsy. I hope you are also with someone you love, or can reach out to someone you love, this month.
And remember, you can always find something you love, someone you love (even and especially if it is just yourself) at your local library.
Until next time,
xoxo Colby