Comfort books

 

We've all heard of comfort food. Mac-n-cheese, pizza, tacos, nachos, grilled cheese and tomato soup. But what about comfort books?

For myself, I'd say

- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fannie Flagg  

- The Help - Kathryn Stockett 

- Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman 

- Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells 

- Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling 

- A Week in Winter - Maeve Binchy 

- Heaven (series) - V.C. Andrews

- Carry the World - Susan Fanetti 

- Lost Lake - Sarah Addison Allen 

- The Shining - Stephen King (yes, I'm odd)

What about you? Anyone?

 

Happy Thanksgiving... books!

 

Books. Books. Books.

 

The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1) by Ken Follett

Coming in at a whopping 973 pages, this is an EPIC novel. 

Set in twelfth-century England, beginning in 1120 and ending in 1170, it is the story of the building of a massive gothic cathedral, which in those times is a massive undertaking! Filled with love, betrayal, murder, anarchy and war, knights, monks, kings, and peasants, oaths, revenge promises both fulfilled and broken. Epic.

Follett's rich storytelling makes it possible to believe and "see" the way life would have been in the 12th century, from the wealthy few with their massive castles to the stone masons, wool tradesmen (and women) and other professions of the time, to the monks and their way of life in the monasteries to the squalor and famine of the poor, and the politics and treachery of both state and church.

It is the story of a monk and a master builder who, together, dream of building a massive cathedral, and how their story and friendship encompasses an entire village. 

So many wonderful and terrible characters create such a rich story. Phillip, a monk. Tom, a master builder. Ellen a beautiful and mighty single mother who lives in the woods. Jack, her son. Aliena, an Earls daughter who starts out spoiled and wealthy, becomes destitute and desperate, then learns a trade and becomes successful in her own right. William, a wealthy but evil man who after being refused by his fiancé, makes life miserable for everyone that he can. Alfred, Toms insecure bully of a son.  Jonathon, a baby found in the woods and raised by monks. Richard, Aliena's brother who is a striking knight and military expert but who relies on his sister  for financial support. And so many more. 

This epic best-seller was made into an eight hour miniseries.

This is the first of of three books in this series, followed by World Without End, and A Column Of Fire.

This book sat on my shelf for many years, daunting in its massive length and small print, but I'm so glad that I finally dove in. It was wonderful.

2020 Pandemic = a change to read!

Not to take the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic lightly, I know we are all getting frustrated and anxious after these last nearly 9 months... but instead of fretting about masks and tests, you could look at it like a superb opportunity to be a responsible human and stay home and read! Fiction offers a great way to escape that reality, if only briefly! 

Lonely? Make some new friends in a book. Anxious? Find some calm in a book. Frightened? Find some comfort in a good book. Stay at home order? Travel in a book!

Flowers in the Attic, the cult classic by V.C. Andrews

This cult classic novel was, and still is, scandalous and controversial, but it was one of my favorites when I was a teenager. 

This is the story of four pampered siblings, two sisters and two brother, Cathy, Chris, Cory and Carrie. When their father is killed in an accident, the four children and their mother become destitute due to huge debts and are taken by their mother to live with their grandparents in an enormous creepy mansion.

Seeped in secrets and mystery, the children are told that they must stay in the attic for a short time while their mother mends her relationship with her father. Confined to a small room and a vast spooky attic, these children live secluded in the attic for six very long years.

This Gothic-style horror story includes themes of incest and deranged religious fervor and might not be for everyone.

When first publish in 1979 The Washington Post called it "deranged swill" and said the the author was the "worst writer I have ever read", but after generations of reader have discovered this novel, it has become a cult classic and The Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers called Andrews the "Emily Bronte of the MTV Generation". However, it went on to become a best-seller. It's still in print and being read as of 2020 and it's being read by new generations, right up to the millennials and beyond.

I believe fiction doesn't always need enormous depth or multiple layers or lessons to be an enjoyable book, sometimes a good story is enough, so I recommend it to those who aren't faint of heart or squeamish and for those who sometimes read just for the fun of reading.

(more) Books Books Books

 

Books Books Books

 

All the Light We Cannot See, an incredible novel By Anthony Doerr

This is the story of two teenagers, on opposite sides, during world war 2.

Marie-Laure is a young blind French woman who lives with her father, the locksmith for the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. When she lost her sight as a child, he built her an incredibly detailed model to scale of the city, which she used to memorize her surroundings and gain her independence.

Werner is an orphan in Germany whom, after finding an old radio, becomes intensely interested in electronics and discovers a unique ability and talent working with radios.

When Marie-Laure is forced to hide in her attic, keeping safe a treasure that her father left in her safekeeping when he was arrested, she starts sending messages on her radio to help the resistance.

On the other side of the war, Werner falsifies his age in order to join the German army believing that it is the right thing to do and the safest place to be and his best change at becoming a scientist. Werner's talent with radios earns him a degree of importance to the German army and soon he is put to work searching for resisters who use radio transmissions to rebel against the Nazi's.

Eventually, Werner is hunting Marie-Laure's broadcasts that continue to assist the resistance and while his goal is to stop the anti-Nazi broadcasts, the officers above him are also in pursuit of the treasure that Marie-Laure protects, an incredible diamond called The Sea Of Flames.

It's a good day! Let's party!

 

Escape from reality.

I don't agree with "terrible" but fiction IS a real escape from some of 

life's less fun experiences and circumstances, especially in 2020!  

I want to be somebody new! A cheerful, colorful children's book by Robert Lopshire

Spot is tired of being himself. 

He wants to change who he is, and so he does. 

His first attempt is too big, one is too tall, one is too small, and his friends like him just as himself after all!

This delightful story about self-acceptance speaks to the idea that we all sometimes want to be different than we are, but we are all naturally just as we should be.