While Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, my big plans for this year’s celebration are all about reading.
Specifically, diving into my most recent library haul that included a nice surprise at my local Little Free Library (more on that in a moment). During this incredibly arctic winter, books have become more of a warm comfort than ever before, plus my best romances in life have always been page turners!
The excitement that I felt last week when finding Kelly Bishop’s delightful memoir The Third Gilmore Girl on the shelf was truly passionate in a pop culture sense there.
Being a fan of the now iconic TV series (which celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary last year), Emily Gilmore as critical mother and loving grandmother to Lorelai and Rory was a key component to the success of the show and one of my favorites.
Bishop, who had a thriving career on stage and screen beforehand, gives her personal take on the GG experience as well as her own life and times. While I am interested in seeing how she got along with co-stars such as Lauren Graham and the late great Edward Herrmann, learning more about this grand lady herself should be an adventure worth exploring indeed:
Another pulse pounding moment for me that day was finding a copy of Long Bright River by Liz Moore as well.
This Philadelphia set story follows a pair of sisters, one a police officer, the other an addict on the streets. Mickey hates running into her sister Kacey while patrolling but can’t stop looking out for her.
When Kacey goes missing for longer than usual, it is up to Mickey to try and find her, only to be caught up in a gruesome string of local murders that may or may not be connected to her sister’s situation.
While I haven’t seen the limited series adaptation of the book, I did get a brief start in Moore’s big bestseller The God of the Woods and wound up putting it on pause. I’m hoping that LBR might revive my interest in TGOTW before that book gets an adaptation onscreen:
Before I mention the last library book of this bunch, I do want to talk about the LFL find that I had there.
As I dropped off a Maeve Binchy title (Chestnut Street, which is fine but not a must have for me), my sheer amazement in seeing Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop tucked in there was palatable to say the least. This translated novel by Hwang Bo-Reum was all the literary rage a couple of years ago but I just never got a chance to read it for myself until now, that is!
This charming tale of Yeongju, who flees the corporate world to open up the small bookstore of the title, and the friends she makes along the way was well appreciated during it’s initial release yet with the way things are going these days, I have a feeling that the gentle sentiments of this story are more needed right now.
Plus, it sounds like the kind of low key engaging drama that folks would enjoy tuning into, with it’s takes on life, love and literature as a welcome relief from the hectic pace of reality in all forms:
Back to my haul, the last book that I added to the pile was the final entry in Nora Roberts’ Lost Bride trilogy, The Seven Rings.
Yes, I now have all three volumes on loan and this set combines two of my personal reading challenges for the year(finishing my library reads/Return to Roberts).
However , that’s not the only reason for choosing this particular trilogy here; some of it has to do with the upcoming release of the new Wuthering Heights movie. I know that as of this writing, there’s a big debate over the merits of this film for better or worse (especially the latter) and I have two things to say on this subject:
1) I am not a big Brontë fan (read Jane Eyre several times as a kid and liked it) but do like some Gothic flair from time to time in my stories. The Lost Bride trilogy has a haunted mansion with ghost brides and a new owner dealing with the ancient curse that set this whole thing off and that is really more my jam at the moment.
2) I read WH once as an adult and honestly, found it rather dreary. Yes, it’s a classic worth reading but Cathy and Heathcliff are just too miserable both together and apart for me to want to revisit them either on or off the page.
I have seen a couple of film versions of the book before (did like the one with Ralph Finnes and Juliette Binoche)so I suspect that I’m not missing out on much with what sounds like a very overheated and overdone production at best.
If you’re looking forward to this new Wuthering Heights for your holiday weekend entertainment, I wish you well. Hope you find the fun that you seek from it and plenty of popcorn on hand. As for me, my library finds are the best Valentine and the best version of WH is the Kate Bush song:
Since it has been decreed that six more weeks of winter are our weatherly lot, it’s a good thing that I started my Book of the Month Club subscription right back up this February!
Having a pile of good books on hand does make the colder seasons fly by indeed and while I was eager to get my BOTM groove back on, this month’s main selections weren’t really speaking to me.
Fortunately, they also offer Member Favorites (books from prior months) to choose from instead, so I went with The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. The title character is Olivia Dumont, who is requested by her late father Vincent Taylor to complete his final book.
Vincent, in addition to being a popular horror writer, also has a past terror of his own dating back to the summer of 1975. His two siblings died tragically, with rumors insisting that Vincent was the one responsible for their mutual demise. No proof was ever found to make that notion true or false.
Olivia kept the fact of her connection to Vincent secret for personal and professional reasons but with this big assignment that could really help her out financially, she’s about to get way more than she bargained for here.
I’ve heard great word of mouth regarding this book and glad to have a chance to enjoy this chilling thrill ride for myself:
As for the add-ons, my first pick was How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson.
Jamie Prescott is a film student focusing more on her horror movie thesis than any form of social life when her roommate Lauren asks her to join in on a speed dating session.
Figuring it might be good to blow off some study steam, Jamie decided to go but soon enough regrets her choice of wardrobe and footwear. When a slasher strikes the dating event, she’s willing to use her scary movie knowledge to survive but a dress with pockets and comfortable shoes would certainly make this situation a little easier!
I like the notion of a horror romcom and with Valentine’s Day coming up, this dark comedy sounds ideal. After all, what’s more scary than speed dating, am I right?:
For something much more sentimental, my last choice was Libby Page’s This Book Made Me Think of You.
A few months after the death of her beloved husband Joe, Tilly Nightingale gets a phone call from her local bookstore that there’s a birthday present waiting for her.
The owner, Alf, explains that Joe had set aside twelve books for Tilly, each one with a handwritten letter included . Since she had stopped reading due to Joe’s illness, going back to books for pleasure seemed pointless. However, since this was his last gift to her, Tilly decides to try again.
Between the books and a new found friendship with Alf, Tilly starts to appreciate both books and life once more yet she wants to do more. By setting out on a couple of book based adventures, can she connect more to the wider world or should Tilly know when to put a bookmark in her page turning progress there?
This just feels like a charmingly bittersweet read and with the author noting that one of her inspirations for this novel is You’ve Got Mail, how could I resist?:
Between the bitter cold and the bitterness in our daily headlines, this is a hard winter for sure. It does good to have something positive to look forward to as well as keep your mind from getting too bogged down by stress.
For example, this year happens to be the 100 year anniversary of BOTM and they’re doing certain things to celebrate such as release special Centennial Editions of past picks- the first one out this month is All Quiet on the Western Front-and free bookmarks that highlight past favorites to boot.
The bookmark that I received this month was for a 1981 novel called Heading West by Doris Betts. It tells the tale of a small town librarian being swept up into a journey with a mysterious stranger and a hitchhiker that changes all of their lives in one way or another.
I don’t know if this particular book will be reissued by BOTM or not but I am curious about it and might see if my local library has a copy available. At any rate, it’s good to have a new interest on the horizon as we head towards warmer (and hopefully better) days to come:
