Let me begin with a story. Some of you have heard it before, but bear with me. I promise to be brief.
Before I entered first grade in Boonville, North Carolina—there was no kindergarten then—various adults told me I would learn to read in school. So off I trotted into the classroom that September day, eager to be educated. When I arrived home after school, I stomped across the carport. My mother, who was working in the yard, called out: “What’s the matter with you?” I turned—I see myself blind with fury, red-faced, my fists clenched—and shouted, “They didn’t teach me to read.”
Mr. Drama.
Before I entered first grade in Boonville, North Carolina—there was no kindergarten then—various adults told me I would learn to read in school. So off I trotted into the classroom that September day, eager to be educated. When I arrived home after school, I stomped across the carport. My mother, who was working in the yard, called out: “What’s the matter with you?” I turned—I see myself blind with fury, red-faced, my fists clenched—and shouted, “They didn’t teach me to read.”
Mr. Drama.
Once I did learn to read, I began a lifelong love affair with the written word.
That love affair has brought about Shelf Life. Here I intend sharing with books from my shelves and from my local library, old books and new, books as alive as this morning of All Souls Day, 2016, and books as seemingly dead as Dickens’ doornail, books fat and thin, books you read once and books you revisit year after year, listening to them as you might listen to a dear old friend.
First, a few self-imposed rules:
So, let’s get started.
Today we’ll look at three novels, all set in the present, all having to do with books and love, all touted as international best-sellers, and all written by European women.
And all, I might add, delights for readers who like this sort of book as much as I do.
First up is Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop. Jean Perdu, which means “lost” or “ruined” in French, operates a floating bookshop in Paris, where he tries to match books to his customers’ needs. For twenty-one years Perdu has suffered a heart broken by the inexplicable desertion of his lover. When he begins falling in love with a neighbor in his apartment building, Perdu decides he must settle the affairs of his past before entering this new relationship. He unmoors his boat, and along with a young best-selling author and a crew of other unconventional characters, goes in search of his lost love. With its wisdom about books, love, and life, The Little Paris Bookshop won a permanent place in my heart and on my shelf. http://amzn.to/2edvrSs
Next in line is Happy People Read And Drink Coffee. Here Agnes Martin-Lugand tells the story of Diane, a bookseller who has lost her young daughter Clara and her husband Colin in a car crash. After living for months as a recluse, and encouraged by Felix, her gay best friend and business partner, Diane decides to go to a small village in Ireland to see if she can get some part of her life back. There she meets a crew of eccentrics, including Edward, a professional photographer with his own wounds and scars. What appealed to me about Happy People Read And Drink Coffee (the title might well read Happy People Read And Drink Coffee And Smoke Cigarettes, since nearly every pages has at least one character lighting up a smoke) were the twists and turns of the plot, and the unexpected ending. I look forward to reading the sequel, Don’t Worry, Life Is Easy. http://amzn.to/2edvfTg
Finally, there is Katarina Bivald’s The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, the story of Sara Lindqvist, who comes from Sweden to Broken Wheel, Iowa, to visit her pen pal and fellow bibliophile, Amy Harris, only to find on her arrival that Amy has just died. Sara decides to remain in the tiny town and even contemplates opening a bookstore there. Though I haven’t yet finished Broken Wheel, I am astonished by how well Bivald, who is Swedish, captures life in small-town America. Her portrait of Sara Lindqvist, a shy, innocent dreamer who develops some real grit as the story proceeds, is also appealing. http://amzn.to/2enoS3e
If you enjoyed this piece, please like and share. And if you decide to order one of the books, this link will take you to Amazon and should put some small change in my pocket. Just copy it and put it into the address bar.
Best wishes and happy reading!
That love affair has brought about Shelf Life. Here I intend sharing with books from my shelves and from my local library, old books and new, books as alive as this morning of All Souls Day, 2016, and books as seemingly dead as Dickens’ doornail, books fat and thin, books you read once and books you revisit year after year, listening to them as you might listen to a dear old friend.
First, a few self-imposed rules:
- Unless noted otherwise, every book reviewed here I have read.
- For nearly fifteen years, I have written book reviews for the Smoky Mountain News, a weekly paper in Waynesville, North Carolina, put together by editor Scott McLeod, who has somehow managed not only to stay afloat in our digital age but who has an office and a staff of writers, advertising folks, and other personnel. Some of these reviews I have written for the paper will appear here.
- I am not a professional critic. I’ve taught literature, and I write reviews, but like most of you I read because I enjoy reading. This means that nearly all of the books included here will receive favorable reviews. Why? Because these are books that I like or love, or at least appreciate. After all, what’s the point of reading a dull or uninteresting book?
So, let’s get started.
Today we’ll look at three novels, all set in the present, all having to do with books and love, all touted as international best-sellers, and all written by European women.
And all, I might add, delights for readers who like this sort of book as much as I do.
First up is Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop. Jean Perdu, which means “lost” or “ruined” in French, operates a floating bookshop in Paris, where he tries to match books to his customers’ needs. For twenty-one years Perdu has suffered a heart broken by the inexplicable desertion of his lover. When he begins falling in love with a neighbor in his apartment building, Perdu decides he must settle the affairs of his past before entering this new relationship. He unmoors his boat, and along with a young best-selling author and a crew of other unconventional characters, goes in search of his lost love. With its wisdom about books, love, and life, The Little Paris Bookshop won a permanent place in my heart and on my shelf. http://amzn.to/2edvrSs
Next in line is Happy People Read And Drink Coffee. Here Agnes Martin-Lugand tells the story of Diane, a bookseller who has lost her young daughter Clara and her husband Colin in a car crash. After living for months as a recluse, and encouraged by Felix, her gay best friend and business partner, Diane decides to go to a small village in Ireland to see if she can get some part of her life back. There she meets a crew of eccentrics, including Edward, a professional photographer with his own wounds and scars. What appealed to me about Happy People Read And Drink Coffee (the title might well read Happy People Read And Drink Coffee And Smoke Cigarettes, since nearly every pages has at least one character lighting up a smoke) were the twists and turns of the plot, and the unexpected ending. I look forward to reading the sequel, Don’t Worry, Life Is Easy. http://amzn.to/2edvfTg
Finally, there is Katarina Bivald’s The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, the story of Sara Lindqvist, who comes from Sweden to Broken Wheel, Iowa, to visit her pen pal and fellow bibliophile, Amy Harris, only to find on her arrival that Amy has just died. Sara decides to remain in the tiny town and even contemplates opening a bookstore there. Though I haven’t yet finished Broken Wheel, I am astonished by how well Bivald, who is Swedish, captures life in small-town America. Her portrait of Sara Lindqvist, a shy, innocent dreamer who develops some real grit as the story proceeds, is also appealing. http://amzn.to/2enoS3e
If you enjoyed this piece, please like and share. And if you decide to order one of the books, this link will take you to Amazon and should put some small change in my pocket. Just copy it and put it into the address bar.
Best wishes and happy reading!