CIMPLE – A Curious Introvert's Musings & Photos about Life and Enjoyment

The stars have aligned this weekend for an introvert’s perfect weekend reading getaway. Notre Dame, Michigan and Peyton Manning have the weekend off, rainy weather is expected all day and the books M Train and Just Kids, by Patti Smith, are waiting on a table by the fireplace. Surprisingly, an introvert’s perfect weekend is not spent alone, but often with a variety of interesting characters. Over the years those special weekends have been spent in Scottish pubs with John Rebus, with Swedish detective Kurt Wallander, traveling the country with Jack Reacher, traveling back in time to Paris with the Lost Generation of the 1920s, and years spent with endless other favorite authors, characters and stories. Just like any weekend retreat that can encounter complications, a weekend reading can be spent experiencing heartbreak, tragedy and forgiveness if, for example, you spend it with Bill Clegg’s excellent new book, Did You Ever Have A Family, and occasionally the weekend ends with feelings similar to a favorite scene by Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook.

It is also possible an introvert may take an extended weekend and include a few movies or TV series to enhance the weekend reading getaway. There may be a weekend spent reading about Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Lost Generation while watching Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. Another weekend may include reading Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain while watching a No Reservations or Parts Unknown marathon. A special weekend reading Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander series while watching the fabulous Kenneth Branagh’s portrayal of Wallander in the BBC series. Another weekend of traveling may be spent on India watching the wonderful movie, The Lunchbox, cooking Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala and reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s novels.

This current weekend getaway is being spent finishing Patti Smith’s wonderful new book, M Train, and spending the rest of the weekend with her National Book Award Winner, Just Kids. I absolutely love a book that not only captivates you with its writing and storytelling, but also has the ability to elicit emotions and thoughts that remain with you after you set the book aside. Each night this week, as I read a little bit of M Train, I would wake the next morning craving coffee, a favorite chair at a coffee shop for writing, a detective series marathon and a trip to the bookstore to purchase every book she mentioned. Prior to reading M Train, the only song of Patti Smith in my music library was Because the Night, but, after finding her to be extremely fascinating, I thought listening to her music could be included this weekend instead of movies. Whether fiction or nonfiction, the power of words reaching across the page to you with such force that you find yourself making lists of the books, music, countries, artists, philosophers, etc. that have influenced the author or character you have become fascinated by, usually keeps a curious introvert busy until the next wonderful opportunity for weekend reading getaway.