I love to read and am grateful I live in a place with three great libraries.

Yet, as I look through the selection of new books and read the cover blurbs, I wonder why so many of the plots sound alike.

I still enjoy reading Danielle Steel’s books but many of her plots also are starting to sound alike.

That sameness is especially true in what they call “chick lit” or beach reads.

If I read one more story where the heroine was hurt in a past love and is leery about trying again, I’m going to scream, “Please people, give me something new.”

I finally found that “something new” in a book entitled “One Last Dance.”

Yes, it’s about a love affair but it’s the protagonists that make it different. He’s 89 and she’s still a youngster at 79.

What a delightful story. While it captures all of the pains and problems of aging, it’s also a nice love story.

I won’t spoil the plot by telling you details, but I will tell you this. If you are a reader of “a certain age” and are tired of reading novels where the characters fall into bed almost before they learn each other’s name, you might like this book as a welcome change.

Well, to be truthful, Dixie and Morgan, the protagonists in the book, did move in together before they even had a first date. But it was an economic move. Older adults struggling on strict budgets would understand.

What I also liked about the book is the story behind its publication. The author, Mardo Williams, has his own interesting story.

He believed it’s never too late to fall in love and it’s never too late to accomplish a goal.

As proof, at 92, he wrote his first novel. He said he was writing “One Last Dance” to inspire old folks not to sit in a corner living in the past.

At the time he was a widower, living with a significant other for two years.

His family says he was consumed with writing his novel about aging.

Despite his hip replacement, sinus surgeries, congestive heart failure and ongoing pneumonia he stuck to his goal of publishing his novel.

Even when he went blind from macular degeneration, he wouldn’t give up. He dictated the last chapters, revising as his daughters read to him.

I think the author’s real life story and what he went through to finish the book would make a great Netflix film.

Mardo’s novel reminds us love is ageless. It’s always there for us if we reach for it.

When I married David, I was 69 and he was 76. I thought that was old until I had the pleasure of meeting Mel and Louise.

I first met Mel when I was doing a newspaper story about 80-something dancers. He never missed an opportunity to dance and made sure he danced with many women each night.

When Louise asked Mel if he would drive her to the dance at the Cultural Center in the next town, he said he would … as long as she understood he would continue having plenty of dance partners.

I guess I should tell you Louise was one cute redhead with an engaging smile.

When Mel was planning to go on a cruise, he asked Louise to go with him. She said yes, but only after asking her adult children if she should.

That cruise cemented the relationship of Mel and Louise. She moved in with him and they became the beloved nucleus of our crowd. Our very active social circle revolved around them. There was always a party, a dance or a new social experience we all did together.

I love to polka, even though a rousing polka is a heart-thumping experience.

But Mel, at 90, never faltered during his energetic polka.

He also continued cutting his own lawn and even crawl up to fix his own roof.

It wasn’t just his stamina that made Mel amazing. It was his joy for all of life.

He and Louise loved life and lived each day as the exciting adventure it was meant to be.

It’s quite true when we say life is an attitude.

It’s our attitude that determines how much joy we have, regardless of age.

One 40-year-old church secretary told me her biggest regret is that she will never marry or have a loving relationship.

I told her she has a lot of years left to make that happen. Yet, she thinks 40 is “too old.”

Another 58-year old woman also laments the loving relationship she will never have. “I’m going to be alone all my life,” she says.

She doesn’t understand it isn’t age that’s holding her back.

It’s attitude.

My friend Kay has always been upbeat, thankful for every day of life. But she too, thought she would never marry and would always be alone.

When she was my maid of honor at my wedding, she said she would relish walking down the aisle in her beautiful gown because it was the only time she would walk down the church aisle.

At 74, she had a phone call from an old boyfriend, inviting her to go to their class reunion with him.

They had eight blissful years together.

Mardo Williams is right.

It’s never too late for love.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.