A Surefire Way To Beat The Heat

I hate summer weather, especially when it gets humid, and today is my worst weather nightmare. It's nasty and muggy outside -- going into work, I felt like I was walking through the rainforest exhibit at an aquarium, although I doubt we will see any rain today. I much prefer fall, with its cool (but not cold) temperatures and pretty colors.

Although August is flying, I've still got several weeks before those colors appear. But I've found a great way to pass the time, and it doesn't even require air conditioning -- the magnificent, marvelous world of books.

Yesterday, I began to re-read one of my favorite books of all time, The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth. Originally published in 1859 as a magazine serial, the book is a page turner all the way through. And it doesn't read like a book that is nearly a century and a half old, so those who want a book they can breeze right through without having to sift through outdated language will find a friend in The Hidden Hand.

To tell much about the story would be too difficult, as it has so many twists and turns that even though I read the book only a year ago, I can barely remember how it all turns out. It's a mystery, an adventure and a romance all in one, with secrets, danger and intrigue around every corner -- not to mention some very colorful characters, including the heroine, Capitola, an adventurous girl whose pluck would be admired by any woman reading her story.

This is the kind of book you want to read while drinking tea by a crackling fire while it pours down rain outside; indeed, there's plenty of inclement weather in the story itself. It's not a great book for the beach or (more likely for me) the elliptical machine. And had I thought about it before tucking into the first chapter yesterday, I might have waited till fall to read this book again, just to get myself in the right mindset.

But as soon as I began, I was hooked yet again, and I found myself forgetting about the hot, steamy weather, my instincts telling me instead to put on my warmest fuzzy socks and curl up in an afghan. And I may yet.

It's the perfect way to get through this last, nasty part of summer.