just a few of my favorite things

Basking in the sun with a good book, adorable little chamomile flowers, and the food of Italy - these are just a few of my favorite things. What are some of your favorites?

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read: the charles lenox series

A book is like a garden carried in your pocket.
-- Chinese proverb 

I believe there are different books for different occasions. I can't read certain books before I go to bed - my mind needs to wind-down and relax to ensure a good night's sleep and more importantly, a good tomorrow! But, at the same time I can't be bothered with books I find uninspiring fluff. Enter the Charles Lenox series. 

Set in Victorian England, this series centers around the affable gentleman detective, Charles Lenox. In these books, there's enough suspense and story-line to keep me interested, enough history and period details to satisfy my enjoyment of both, and none of the gore and macabre that many murder mysteries contain. 

In the most recent book in the series, "A Burial at Sea" we follow Charles Lenox on a secret mission to the newly built Suez canal in Egypt, leaving behind London - the setting for most of the other novels - for a journey aboard one of Her Royal Majesty's ships, the Lucy. It's an excellent environment for a mystery - very Murder on the Orient Express - in that all of the suspects are in a confined location.

In a particularly poignant part of "A Burial at Sea", towards the end of the story, Charles is reflecting upon his long journey. Finch writes that Lenox, "felt a certain gladness that the world was still a large place; it was getting smaller, it be sure, distances were collapsing -- why, the Suez was an example of that! ... Though he loved progress, part of him hoped the steamship wouldn't make Egypt a mere two-day voyage away, and take that feeling of majesty with it." I think this idea is something we all feel even today when distances have no doubt collapsed greatly. 

All of the Charles Lenox books have been a pleasure to read - I think you'll feel the same. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, and hopefully the wait won't be too long.

read: a visit from the goon squad

Jennifer Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad" keeps you on your toes. On the back on the book, reviews include, "The smartest book you can get your hands on", "At once intellectually stimulating and moving", and "A new classic of American fiction." I think all of these statements are true. I can't actually think of another book quite so well-crafted and entertaining with characters so flawed that you  kind of despise them yet because Egan gives them all so much humanity, we want them to succeed. Egan is able to craft each chapter so that it alone could be a short, stand-alone story and luckily for the reader the chapters melt together beautifully, almost magically, story-lines weaving between an entire crew of characters, throughout decades of time.  

Egan writes about one of the main characters, "Driving to pick up his son, Bennie alternated between the Sleepers and the Dead Kennedys, San Francisco bands he'd grown up with. He listened for muddiness, the sense of actual musicians playing actual instruments in an actual room. Nowadays that quality (if it existed at all) was usually an effect of analogue signaling rather than bona fide tape..."

The concept of change brought about by time is one of the main themes of this smart book. Egan even includes two quotes by the master of all things time and remembered, Marcel Proust, on a page before her story begins. These quotes set a tone and signal to the reader that time, memories, and the uniqueness of an individual's perspective are ideas that will accompany the reader through her pages. 

As I closed the book, just after reading the last of Egan's words, I had just one overarching thought - "wow". 

read: You Know Who You Are

"You Know Who You Are" by Ben Dolnick was for me, an interesting read. I enjoyed the type of nostalgia some of the scenes in this story triggered. Dolnick aptly captures the insecurities, frustrations and joys of adolescence as well as the many dimensions and complexities of family life. I wouldn't say that this book is for everyone. There were parts of it that in all honesty I found cliche. But perhaps the normal, mundane existence of a teenager growing into a young man is cliche. Nevertheless, Dolnick's writing makes you feel for his characters, makes you want better for them and makes you turn the pages to hope that the characters, especially the brothers Jacob and Will end up on their feet, ready for what lies ahead.

Dolnick expresses the perspective of a child so well and with great yet understated humor. He writes, "At ten years old friendship is like marriage. Jacob's first best friend, and the one he imagined, without enthusiasm, that he'd spend his life with, was Marek Bondarchuk, a boy with fine black hair and a complexion the color of chicken fat."

This story of a family torn apart by the illness of Jacob and Will's mother and their father's rebirth is full of emotion. Kudos to Dolnick for expressing such depth.

read: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

My mom recommended this book to me, and I am so thankful, because I adored it. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" is one of those books that makes you feel for each character so greatly - you feel invested. It's cleverly co-written by an aunt and niece duo, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Shaffer and Barrows craft a story line comprised fully of letters and correspondences amongst the characters. It makes for such an enjoyable read and made me nostalgic for something I never really knew in my lifetime - actual news worthy letters! 

I learned so much from this book; the history of Guernsey during WWII is fascinating. The authors writing captures small town island life where each character is full of spirit and often times a little bit quirky, only making them all the more endearing. When the main character, Juliet travels to Guernsey from London, the big-city girl falls in love with the island charm. Once Juliet arrives in Guernsey she recounts the experience to her friend and publisher via letter, of course. She writes, "When we drew right alongside the pier, I could see the faces of the people waiting - and then there was no going back. I knew them by their letters. There was Isola in a mad hat and purple shawl pinned with a glittering brooch. She was smiling fixedly in the wrong direction and I loved her instantly." Juliet transforms throughout the novel and becomes who she is meant to be - a true heroine. 

After I read this book, I learned that it will be made into a movie, I believe it will be released this fall with Kate Winslet playing the lead. I'm excited to see the cinematic version. If you haven't read this poignant book yet, be sure to before you see the movie! Just writing about this book makes me want to read it again - it's that good.