Every time I start my pile of reading books I say I will post on my blog before the pile gets too big, yet every time I fail to post at a reasonable time. I must have some kind of writer’s block for the books. Then I say, it’s been too long, move on and forget this group and so for another few weeks or a month, they sit in my office and stare at me every time I enter and they say “what about us”. I even talk to myself about when I will post them or for sure I will get to them today but I don’t even listen to myself. Then all of a sudden I know I either have to post or put them away. How do I know when the time has come? I know, because my new group of books has started to pile up also. So for better or worse, here is what I have from the end of the summer and the first part of fall. A small description of some really good books. Enjoy.
When We Were The Kennedys by Monica Wood Mexico, Maine 1963. This is about a family where the father works in the Oxford paper company. The father suddenly dies on his way to work one day and the mother and the four deeply connected Wood girls are set adrift. It’s a story of how a family, a town, and then a nation mourns and find the strength to move on. I really enjoyed this book and learned so much about the Oxford paper company and small-town living in Mexico Maine, which is not very far from where our house is in Maine. A really good read 4 stars
Don’t Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk Herman Wouk was one of my favorite authors a few years back so when I saw this book at a second hand shop I scooped it up. Copy-write, 1921. To say it was a bit dated is an understatement. The times were so different…Norman Paperman was a successful and well-known Broadway publicity agent but he gets bored with Manhattan life and so he chucks it all and buys a hotel on the Island of Amerigo in the Caribbean sea. The Island turns out to be more work and hassle, with many strange characters than Norman had bargained for. The books started off great and then it dragged on. I struggled to stay with it and I just didn't relate to the times…a bit disappointing for a Wouk book…3 stars.
Lost in Paris by Elizabeth Thompson Full disclosure. I read most everything I can find on Paris and I can’t wait to get back there…so until it is safe I read on about my favorite city. This was a luscious, layered story of inheritance, heartbreak, reinvention, and family. Hannah Bond was a bookworm…another plus. She fled Florida to get away from her alcoholic mother and went to the British countryside to lead Jane Austin themed tours. Just when she thought she was free from her mother, she shows up at Hannah’s London apartment with three things…an old key, and newspaper clippings about the death of a famous writer and the deed to an apartment in Paris…a great multigenerational saga set in the City of Lights. What could be better for a cold winter’s read. Of course I thought it was pretty good for a summer read. 5 stars.
The Comfort Book by Matt Haig I read this little book of notes, proverbs and stories shortly after my brother and Gracie passed. I didn’t have much mental energy for much else and I did find the stories and verses of this book very helpful. Lots of stories I either checked off for revisiting and quotes that I loved. An easy bedside book for those moments when you just want to read something peaceful and soothing. Most vignettes were Matt’s but several other authors contributed also. 5 stars
I loved almost every one of these books…Most of them I enjoyed in our lingering summer this year. My front porch and a comfy chair are where you would find me at tea time with my book.
Moloka’i by Alan Brennert This is the first book in the Moloka’i series and it was wonderful. Historical fiction is the best way to learn about history for me. Moloka’i is the island that those with leprosy were sent to. A spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl was swept away from her home and family and sent to Kalaupapa, for quarantine. Her life was supposed to end but in fact, it was just beginning. From the back cover “Moloka’i is a masterpiece of storytelling about a people who embraced life in the face of death. As I was reading this and thinking of what all these families and children were going through in this stage of history I was very aware of how so many people today are so selfish in view of our Covid epidemic. It made me so sad to read of those people with leprosy yet it was very uplifting to see them all come together to save and take care of each other. More people have now died from Covid than from any other contagious virus and it is completely not necessary. This was a fantastic book. 5 stars.
Paris in the Present Tense by Mark Helprin Jules Lacour is seventy-four years old. In the midst of what should be an effulgent time of life, days bright with music, family, and rowing on the Seine, Jules is confronted headlong and all at once by a series of challenges to his principles, livelihood, and home forcing him to grapple with his complex past and find his way forward. (from the back cover). Jules runs into all kinds of problems with family and he has some hard choices to make. All this is happening amongst the beauty of Paris…the writing was beautiful and for most of the book it was good but in some parts complicated. I found it to be slow towards the end and for me, it lost its excitement. For those of you who might have read Mark Helprin before perhaps you would know better if this was just a fluke. 3 stars
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger Now this is an author that I can sink my teeth into. Everything he writes is beautiful and you get so lost so quickly, you never want to resurface again…well, at least for a little while. This Tender Land was a book that you couldn’t wait to get back to each day. Summer, 1932, on the banks of Minnesota’s Gilead River, Odile is an orphan confined to the Lincoln Indian Trading School. Things take a bad turn there and Odile and his brother and another friend flee the school with a little girl named Emmy. The rest of the story is about how these four orphans travel into unknown paths and meet lost souls of all kinds. It really is an epic story of place, time, and dreams that haunt us but in the end, make us whole. A brilliant historical novel…5 Stars
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow If you are a lover of books you will really enjoy this one. Another one that I loved. “A gorgeous, aching love letter to stories, storytellers, and the doors they lead us through. Absolutely enchanting.” Christina Henry from the back cover. January Scaller is the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke. For the most part, she is largely ignored by him and is out of place in his mansion. But she finds a strange book, one that tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. For the time, January realizes she can escape her story and sneak into someone else’s…the adventure begins. 5 stars
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich Louise Erdrich is a fascinating writer. A native American, accomplished in her writing craft…she knows both sides of the world. The world between her people and the white people. Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel-bearing plant near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Native American who is trying to understand the Emancipation of the United States Congress. It is 1953, not so long ago. It is about the termination that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their identity. Pixie Parenteau has been insisting everyone call her Patrice. She works at the plant and barely makes enough money to support her Mom and younger brother. She makes a trip to Minneapolis and finds herself in unexpected exploitation and violence that threatens her life. Although this is a novel it is based on the life of Erdrich’s grandfather Patrick Gourneau, who carried the fight against the Native Americans from rural Noth Dakota to Washington D.C. Really riveting. 5 stars.
Shakespeare and Company by Sylvia Beach Back to Paris and one of my favorite book stores. Whenever we are there this is always on my list. There is also another book with this title but that book is about the owner who bought the store from Sylvia Beach. She was the original owner. She opened the store in 1919. It is one of only a few American bookstores in Paris. For two decades it was where all the high-profile writers would gather to write and socialize. It was the headquarter for expatriate American writers. It was also the favorite place of James Joyce, whom Sylvia helped get published. Like moths they were drawn to her well-lighted bookstore and warm hearth on the Left Bank. An interesting place to visit. Of course, I loved this book. So many great writers and the fact that the store finally sold to George, who was from my hometown of Salem, Mass makes it more interesting. But this was the first bookstore and if you love books and authors, and a strong-willed woman who loved Paris…this would be for you. 5 stars for sure
Bright Lights Paris by Angie Niles What a fun book and I have so much underlined for my next trip over the pond. I think I mentioned before that I always have two books going, sometimes more. One that I’m reading full time and then a book on my nightstand that is soft, easy reading and I’m never in a hurry to finish. This was a delight. The real title is Bright Lights Paris-shop, dine and live…Parisian Style. So many great tips and easy to navigate as it is laid out by arrondissements, of which there are twenty in Paris. It’s also a great way to learn how Paris connects to each arrondissement (section of town) because that does take some getting used to. The photos in the book are absolutely beautiful and they really depict the colors and texture of Paris. I took my time with this book and I was sorry to end it but I do have lots of research done for my next trip over, which I hope with all my heart, with be in 2022. 5 Bright stars for this one.
Fall is fully in full swing now, as you can see but books remain in my life through every season. It was a beautiful fall and so I was slow to move back inside. The leaves did fall and the wind did blow so the cycle does change…These books plus two more not pictured were great fall stories.
The Art of Slow Writing by Louise DeSalvo If you love writing and reading this book is really for anyone. So many authors sharing their tips on writing and not making it a race but to slow down and enjoy the process and learn how to think about your craft. I also loved that other authors were included and not only voiced their tips but shared some of their favorite books and writers. Again, I underlined lots of information to go back to and glance over a second time. I was not familiar with Louise DeSalvo but I loved her writing and style of deliverance. Easy to understand and kind of on the same page as me. It was really a reflection on time, craft, and creativity, just as the book says. She also wrote another book that I will be getting entitled Writing as a Way of Healing. I think anyone who picks up this book will be better for reading it…5 Stars.
The Orphan Train by Christine Baker Kline Loved this book. Another historical novel and a new writer for me. I actually got this recommendation from the book above, The Art of Slow Writing. I’m so glad I did. It has been around for a while but this was my first exposure to it. Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Compulsive reading…a story of resilience in the face of tremendous odds and oppressive loneliness. Extensive research was done for this book and it’s hard to believe how long this was able to go on. Tragic and heartwarming. A gripping story. 5 stars
First, you Have to row a little boat by Richard Bode I am not a sailor but I am an optimist for the most part. This was a delightful little book that used the example of rowing a little boat before you can handle cruising the world in a sloop. So many wonderful parallels to life. Some, which should be obvious but aren't and others that were aha moments. At the end of the day we all must learn and shift our priorities as we sail through life…valuable lessons written in such a sweet and easy manner. A delightful read. 5 stars
Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt I don’t have a photo of this because I read this one on my Kindle. I don’t usually do that but for some reason, I had heard of this book and remembered that I saved in on the kindle. Not my favorite way to read. But that would take up another entire blog post…Two women running away from their marriages collide on a foggy highway, killing one of them. The survivor, Isabelle, is left to pick up the pieces, not only of her own life but of the lives of the devastated husband and fragile son that the other woman, April, has left behind. Together, they try to solve the mystery of where April was running to, and why. As these three lives intersect, the book asks,” How well do we really know those we love—and how do we forgive the unforgivable?” “Magically written, heartbreakingly honest.” —Jodi Picoult
I relied on the description in Amazon for this book as I didn’t have the book in front of me as a reminder. I do know it was a wonderful mystery, sad for many reasons as one can imagine but I think really genuine in the end. 4 stars
I Alone Can Fix It by Carol Leonning and Philip Rucker I really debated whether to include this in my review but being honest, I did read it or most of it, so I had to include it. Suffice it to say there was some compelling information but for the most part, it was the “same old story”. I found myself skimming and when I do that I know that I should just put the book down. The research was good and the reporting was spot on but I think I’ve had enough. 2 stars
The Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon Somehow I always save the best for last…I like to end on a high note. This was a surprisingly good book. I’m not even sure how I ended up getting it but I am so glad I did and instead of putting it on the bookshelf and picking it up later, I read it right away. Maybe it was the age thing or maybe it was the best friend thing but if you are of a certain age and have had a best friend for many years you will love this book. The story is about two best friends, 84-year-old Florence and her best friend Elsie. They share a secret and now that they are getting older they are worried that the secret might get out. They both live in the same home for the elderly and before you know it you are on a mystery tour. A great chase to find out the truth and you have to get to the end to find out the answer. Brilliantly written. I have since bought another book by this author titled The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Doesn’t that sound like a good thriller. 5 stars for the girls…
So that brings us to the end of Part Summer, Part Fall but no worries a new pile is growing. I honestly have had a difficult spring, summer, and fall. Grief is something that can consume us and sometimes we feel like we have nowhere to go and no one who really understands and never more than this year have I appreciated my books so much. They carried me through the darkest of days…not a long or complicated book but the smaller ones where you could read for as long as you needed to get lost for a while. These books, this group, were so healing and I’m grateful for each one that lifted me when I needed it most. Keep on reading. Even if it’s the only thing you can do. Wishing all of you a wonderful and grateful Thanksgiving next week.
“Day to day life is like the wind in all its infinite variations and moods. The wind is shifting, constantly shifting, blowing north northeast, then northeast, then north-just as we, ourselves, are constantly shifting, sometimes happy, sometimes angry, sometimes sad. As the sailor sails his winds, so we must sail our moods. ”
“For all my sorrow and regret, I can’t go on forever condemning myself for what I did or didn’t do. ”
“I love stillness. Slowness. When nothing is happening. The blueness of the sky. Inhaling clean air. Birdsong over traffic. Lone footsteps. Spring flowers blooming with defiance. I used to think the quiet patches felt dead. Now they feel more alive. Like leaning over and listening to the earth’s heartbeat. ”
