Grandma Gatewood's Walk

I read all the time and have all my life.  As a kid, I would read the phone book if there was nothing else, and I remember reading the World Book Encyclopedia the summer I was 12.  I'm a librarian to the core.  This past year I've read a little less than normal as I've been knitting while watching TV more.  But I still spend time each day reading, usually on my Kindle nowadays.  I've read some really good books this year, including a couple of excellent mysteries such as the new "Maisie Dobbs" book by Jacqueline Winspear, The Consequences of Fear.  I intersperse mysteries with some lighter fiction and even some heavier stories like my favorite of last year, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, which deals with a global pandemic.  I rarely read nonfiction and prefer stories written by women.

Yesterday, I found myself struggling to read a bit of chic lit, a follow up to a book I really enjoyed called  The Garden of Small Beginnngs, by Abbi Waxman.  I guess she is trying to appeal to a much younger audience.  I had slogged through about 18% and just couldn't read another word.  

My sister mentioned to me that she had just finished the book I gave her for Christmas and that it was the best book she'd read in a long time.  She does a lot of hiking in Colorado and I thought the book would appeal to her.   I decided I'd give Grandma Gatewood's Walk, by Ben Montgomery, a try, too, and, to my surprise, found myself just racing along.  How nice it is to find a book that makes you want to read it all the time!

Grandma Gatewood was in her late 60s in 1955 when she started walking the 2,000+ mile Appalachian Trail.  She had no gear, really, and wore sneakers.  I can't wait to get back to it today!