Reading for Comfort.

I am most definitely a creature of habit, and one that turns to the familiar when in need of comfort. Sure I love a cup of tea and something yummy to eat when I'm feeling blue, but sometimes, nothing but a book will do.

There are several books that I have turned to repeatedly for a dose of comfort on many occasions.  Not only are some of these books my most favorite of all the books I've read over the years, but they are safe to read, with nothing scary, or uncertain in them: partly because they are so familiar and partly because there is no Stephen King and no thrillers on the list.

The above book is one of those reads for me. It's not the first copy of A Room With A View I've owned (I own several copies), but this one was nice since it had Howard's End as well.  I love EM Forster, and he is definitely one of my favorite go to comfort authors, and A Room With A View is one of my favorite books. There are no major tragedies in the novel (although lots of minor ones, and plenty of muddles).  And I love knowing what's going to happen next, although with so many books I adore, I'd love to back in time to read this book for the first time again!  But I am so glad I can turn to this one and feel a sense of warmth and coziness.  I love Mrs. Honeychurch, and old Mr. Emerson.  The sweet romance that develops between Lucy and George is one that's I'm sure transcends their own prim time, of chaperons and propriety, and can imagine that couple living in a London neighborhood these days.  But just look at this book! It's loved--it' s been bent, packed, and read and well loved for years.  I'd never get rid of it, my most well worn copy of these novels.

There are more of course.  I love Jane Eyre- and have been known to turn to her on my Kindle in heavy New York traffic (while my husband drove and cursed, of course!).

To Kill A  Mockingbird, is another. Yes, horrible things happen, but one you know how it all ends up: the courageous Jem, the elusive but ever present Boo, and Atticus, all intersecting at the end., their presences as comforting to Scout as to the repeat reader.
Gone With The Wind and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn are two more, and I've also found that as I get older, and the circumstances of my life change (from kid, to being a teen, to young adulthood, and into motherhood), I am often affected very differently than I was earlier by these novels.  As a young teen, I just loved spunky Scarlett--but as a mother, many years later during a re-read, I wept as Melanie talked about decorating the graves of the Yankee war dead, just as well as the Confederate ones;  her compassion and sweet spirit were what moved me to tears.

And Jack Finney's Time and Again, the world's greatest time travel novel!  I think I was 12 or 13 when I first read it. I was excited! this book was incredible!  Who wouldn't want to read this fabulous book over and over again in the course of a lifetime?

I am often met with disapproval:  Why would you spend time on books you've already read, when there are so many new ones?  My response is that I re-read the ones I love because I know they make me happy, and they beautify my life with their very presence.  I'm not always re-reading a book. In fact, I often pick up these favorites and just read a few chapters or a favorite scene that I love.

I hope every reader has some comfort reads. What are some of yours?

A review of Anthony Doerr's Incandescent novel All The Light We Cannot See

Incandescent! The most beautiful writing! Lovely book, beautiful story!  Anthony Doerr achieves that connection that is so important in great writing and literature. The characters connect with each other, even though they cannot see all that the reader can see.  Doerr also successfully builds a bridge between that time and this one, reminding us that these were people living their lives when this monstrous war barged into their lives, wreaking havoc and changing their plans and their lives.

I cannot recommend this book enough--Doerr is obviously at the top of his game: a genius storyteller, and an artist--painting the most gorgeous pictures with the words he chooses.  I wept through half this novel, not because it was sad (and it is sad), but because the writing is so perfect!

And a little E.M. Forster for the weekend.

I work in a bookstore (a chain, not an indie).  I noticed these awesome new covers on Nancy Drew last week, and I just adore them. I know people are attached to the iconic covers from when they were kids, but the first four books were actually published in 1930, and these seem much more appropriate!

I think they are gorgeous.

Sounds like another way of saying heaven.

Review of The Bees by Laline Paull

There's lots of "buzz" about this book, and most of it is well deserved.  It's the story of a hive and of a particular bee in that hive.  Flora 717 is a sanitation bee in an orchard hive (humans placed it there), and she is a little different from her fellow sanitation bees.  Sanitation bees do the dirty work in the hive: they clean up bodies of dead bees and other messes that occur. They are low in the bee hierarchy, although most of the bees, be they foraging bees, nursery bees, drones, etc, all repeat the mantra of the hive "Accept, Obey, Serve."  But our bee, Flora 717, has a different story.  She is different from the other bees.  She is a breakout bee, who thinks for herself, and has abilities the others don't have, even though she si regarded as not only ugly by the others, but as the lowliest kind of bee. Until the queen bee takes notice.

This book is truly a cross, or homage to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Orwell's 1984/Animal Farm. The setting is dystopian, a society struggling to survive, but reluctant to adapt as the world around them is changing.

Well written and with a fairly compelling story line, there were a few sections where I became mired down, and wished for sharper editing: the bees activity, even that of the heroine, Flora, sometimes became repetitive. I guess that reflects the life of the hive, and the hive mind: dull, repetitive, mechanized, without feeling, or more importantly, without time or energy fro feelings. Flora, a sanitation bee with her own mind and a voice, cannot help but fight against the Melissae, and the fertility police.  I did love the references to the Melissae, which means "the bees" in Greek. The Melissae in ancient Greece were a group of priestesses that were honored as having regenerative and magical powers, much like bees, and the Greeks did indeed keep bees, and appreciated their magical powers to create honey and come back after the winter to make more.

This is a physically beautiful book, I love the cover, even the ARC copy was gorgeous, as is the hardcover.

4.5 stars
I'm giving this novel 5 stars on Amazon, although I feel 4.5 would be more appropriate: great novel, (although not perfect) and I expect great things from this author in the future.  It would have been really cool if she expanded the connection to the ancient Greeks and bees in human history, as well as some of the other insects that appear in the story.

For further reading on The Melissae and bees throughout human history., go here.

Peter Heller's wonderful sophomore effort, The Painter. My review.

If you loved The Dog Stars by Heller, you'll probably really like The Painter. Heller's main character, the painter, Jim Stegner is very much like Hig in that first novel. 

A feeling of loss pervades our lives, and many of us use creativity as a way to repair those broken parts of ourselves, or find the lost ones.

Jim Stegner is a fairly successful painter. he is also a bereaved father, a convicted killer, an alcoholic, and a fly fishing addict. He loves animals, women, poetry, and the outdoors. He is not from a privileged background. He is prone to violence when angered by injustice. But he is also intuitive and knows when to hide.

When he comes across a brutal scene unfolding outside of the New Mexico town he lives near, where a man is ruthlessly beating a small horse, he steps forward to intervene. Not because he's a tough guy, but because he's sensitive and every victim he sees reminds him of his murdered teenage daughter, Alce. The decision to take a stand and help this little horse leads to a series of events that he is not all that new to...

Clearly, Mr Heller is a lover of poetry and all things beautiful, whether created by nature or an artist. His fictional characters often seem cookie cutter/stereo-typical: especially the woman, and that might be what I found to be the biggest fault with his writing. However, in his defense, he is writing about a man from a man's point of view. And while there are a few moments where the writing falters (there is one similar scene in The Dog Stars as well), I can forgive Heller that. Because so much of this novel sparkles. 

5 stars