Peter Ponders… Becoming a Bookworm

Since retiring, I decided to continue my education by reading new books and rereading many of the classics I was assigned in high school. I’m doing it as sort of a New Year’s resolution... but with less commitment and more fun.

Before I could get started though, I needed a library card. This involved showing a photo ID and filling out a quick form at the Lake Mary Library. Easy peasy.

Once I had my card, I instantly felt smarter. Whenever anyone asked for ID, I would proudly show my library card. After the inevitable dirty look, I’d grin and pull out my driver’s license. shelf and creating a loud thud. Luckily, the only thing hurt was my pride.

I ducked behind the counter and waited there to see if anyone saw me. After a minute, when no one came up to me, I assumed it was safe to exit. I nonchalantly walked out empty-handed and eyes forward.

I waited two days before I showed my face at the library again. When I finally went back, it was as if nothing had happened. Take two.

The first book I carefully picked off the shelf was Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It had everything to entertain a 10-year-old boy or a 60-ish adult. Tom witnesses a murder, has reports of his death greatly exaggerated, recovers buried treasure, and gets lost in a cave.

The next book was The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. It’s a story about the lost generation in France drinking themselves through post-World-War-I Paris with a little bull added for good measure.

The Old Man and the Sea, by Hemingway again, was next. A short but bittersweet tale of an old fisherman trying to capture a huge marlin. It was Hemingway’s last major work of fiction. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize in 1954.

Next read was Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Elementary school boys run amok when they are stranded on a deserted island without any adults to rein them in. Sounds like millions of kids on TikTok for hours on end.

Last up, Animal Farm by George Orwell. Not to be confused with the movie Animal House. In this novella, the animals overthrow Farmer Jones and try to turn Manor Farm into an animal utopia. But it ends badly when the rule becomes, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

With that, I literally finished my first one-man book club with a bang... on my head.

Peter Reilly lives in Lake Mary with his wife and son. He can be reached at Peter@LakeMaryLife.com.