\u201cMore books?\u201d the salesclerk asked my husband, Richie, and me as we browsed the science section.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t get enough,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Reading books about mysterious topics and trying to understand them was one of the most intimate parts of our marriage. We called it our intellectual romance. We\u2019d vowed to grow old and interesting together, and books were our means of doing so.<\/p>\n
Each year, from November to March, we exchanged the winter months on our Connecticut farm for months of sunshine, books and long talks in Florida. Every year we picked a new topic to explore together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my girlfriend about you two and all your book adventures,\u201d the salesclerk said. \u201cShe wants us to start reading books together too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it,\u201d I said. \u201cMagnets, the 1920s, tornadoes, crop circles. Just choose something that interests you, and cover it from top to bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t choose herbs,\u201d Richie advised. \u201cIt is dreadfully boring to talk for days about dill and coriander. We\u2019re much happier with the subject we\u2019re studying now. Maybe you and your girlfriend should start with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d the salesclerk said.<\/p>\n
I held up the book we\u2019d just bought. \u201cAngels.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n