Halloween. The Economy. Dogs.
Wow. That's weird. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!
I babble on about Halloween being my favorite holiday all the time. I can't help it, I just feel like there's magic in the air during this particular season. I suspect that it has something to do with the change in weather ( I love cooler weather) and the focus on things like witches and goblins and all the things I love to write about. Even more than Halloween, I LOVE all things fantastic in fiction. Give me a good paranormal or fantasy story any day.
Which of course begs the question, why do I love fantasy? In a recent blog entitled, Why do we read what we read?, I admitted that, for me, it's because there are no rules. It's pure escapism. Escapism is the key for most of us. There's no point beating around the bush, things are very unsettling right now in the real world. People are suffering, money is tight, and we're all a little scared about the future. That's probably why, despite a tough economy, romance fiction in all genres is still selling well. People will give some things up when money's tight, but books are an indulgence many feel they can't give up...on an emotional level.
It's important to find ways to de-stress at times like this. The fun, candy-drenched Halloween season and reading are both great ways to escape real life worries. Another great de-stresser is...you guessed it...dogs.
Now, if you know me at all, you know I'm a dog-aholic. No? Oh yeah. I only have 11 of them, not really enough to, say, field a football team or anything, but it's a couple more than most people have. #:0) For me, dogs are the ultimate de-stresser. They're pure entertainment. And by watching them I learn a lot about human nature. Yeah, we've evolved well beyond dogs, but they're us, boiled down to our most basic needs. Love, food, play, rest. Then start all over again. It's a perfect cycle. If we could sweep all of the outside stuff away like they do and just focus on those 4 things, we'd all be happy. Can you imagine? Amazingly, that's where this linking completes. Full circle. Celebrating holidays and reading a good book allow us, for just a brief moment in time, to sweep all the worrisome outside stuff away and become dog-like. Holidays allow us to be together, enjoying the moment, eating great food, playing and laughing, and when we're alone again, we can relax with a great story, cuddling up to a loyal, furred companion.
Life doesn't get much better than that.
Happy Reading everybody!
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