This post is part of the Huffington Post Book Club series covering "The Night Circus." Click here to read through all of the community comments and discussion.
I love to read.
Ever since I was a child, I've read everything I could get my hands on: newspapers, novels, short stories, the classics, science fiction, fantasy, I could go on and on. I have spent my whole life engrossed in books. Upon discovering Nancy Drew at a flea market with my parents in the 3rd grade, I literally didn't go outside until I read EVERY book in the series. In college, I took up studying English as a minor and enjoyed every literature class. Reading has always been such a passion of mine and a part of me. But it wasn't until now that I felt like I had a place to share it.
I don't know why it took me so long, but the first book club I ever joined was the HuffPost Book Club. These past few weeks I read "The Night Circus" along with the rest of you. It was a wonderful experience, diving into the discussions, following all the #hpbookclub tweets, and talking about the plot with fellow book-lover and even fellow HuffPost editors. I felt like I had found a community of people that love reading just as much as I do, and I now know that I had.
I had an interesting experience one night while reading "The Night Circus" that I shared with everyone following along on Twitter. After finishing a chapter, I closed my book and did some light cleaning around my apartment. But while going through my closet, I ran across a red scarf-- yes, one just like the rêveurs wear. I didn't even know I owned a red scarf! Inspired, I went back and reread some of the chapters I had just finished, including passages about Herr Thiessen, the clock, and the rêveurs, the faithful followers of Le Cirque des Rêves.
"... when he attends the circus he prefers to wear a black coat, to better blend in with his surroundings and feel a part of the circus. But with it, he wears a red scarf in a brilliant scarlet, to distinguish himself from it as well as a reminder that he is at heart a spectator, an observer."
I love it when books and real life meet.
Have you ever had an experience where something in a book coincided with something in your life? Have you ever read something and then a similar real life event occurred?