Night Came with Many Stars by Simon Van Booy

Simon book! Simon book! If you've spent any length of time visiting my blog, you know Simon Van Booy is one of my favorite authors so I'm always extremely excited when he has a new novel or collection of short stories published. Night Came with Many Stars is scheduled to be released on June 8 and I was sent an advance reader by Godine Press thanks to my friendship with Simon. I'd already planned to buy a copy (and I still will — friend exception, you know, to the book-buying ban) but getting an ARC just meant I got to read it sooner. Wahoo for that!

Set in Kentucky, Night Came with Many Stars is a historical/contemporary combo novel. The historical part begins during the Depression, when teenaged Carol is trying to find a way to escape her abusive father and the man he lost her to in a poker game while the contemporary portion begins with a friendship between two boys named Samuel and Eddie that is first shown in the 1980s. Both storylines move forward and you're quickly made aware that you're reading about different generations of the same family. Eventually, they intertwine to tell a multigenerational story of pain and struggle, abuse, the saving graces of friendship and family, and how even those in the worst of circumstances can remake their lives. It's at times harsh (TW: rape) but a lovely, uplifting tale full of heart. 

I feel like talking about any details at all would spoil the reading but there were some particular things that aren't spoilers that I loved, like the fact that one of the characters whistled all the time. That felt particularly homey to me because my father was constantly whistling while he worked, always full of good cheer. It took me back. Also, while I have never lived in Kentucky, the accent felt familiar and very real to me. I must have known people who spoke with that accent at some point, especially dropping the first "y" in "everybody": ever'body. It says in the book that Simon lived in Kentucky for 3 years. I knew he lived there for a while but I didn't realize he'd been there for quite that long. Clearly, he has a great ear for language. I would never have known the author is British from the dialogue or narrative. 

Highly recommended - A 5-star read, an absolutely flawless, moving family saga of pain, resilience, deep friendship, and love. It's my humble opinion that Night Came with Many Stars is Simon's best novel. I had the weird problem of not wanting to put it down yet desiring to drag it out as long as possible at the same time. That's a new one. 

You can pre-order a signed and, if you'd like, personalized copy directly from the publisher at this email:

order@godine.com

My thanks to Simon and Godine Press for the review copy of Night Came with Many Stars! 

Isn't the cover gorgeous? The felted mice were posed with Simon's book for good reason. I just got these two little guys recently and I placed them with the book partly because of the enduring friendship between characters Samuel and Eddie (the bench has a plaque that says "Old Friends") and partly because Simon has a pet mouse, which you can occasionally glimpse if you follow his Instagram account @simonvanbooy . Aren't they adorable? I'm thinking I may just have to name my mice Samuel and Eddie. 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini reviews - The Suicide Run by Wm. Styron, The Song of the Tree by C. Bickford-Smith, and two rereads

These are all books from my personal shelves that I don't feel require a lengthy review. Two I've read and reviewed in the past, so I'll just talk about the rereading.

The Suicide Run is my second read by William Styron. The first was so vividly written that I had to look the book up to make sure I was actually reading fiction. It was a book of three short stories and, yes, they were fiction. I don't recall the title, it's been so long.

The same was true of The Suicide Run. There's just something about Styron's writing that feels real and immediate. The stories in The Suicide Run (my favorite of which felt to be novella length, although I can't say if it qualified as such) are about military life or preparing to go back into the military, and they are based on Styron's experiences in wartime but not autobiographical.

Much as in Tim O'Brien's writing, the focus of the stories is on incompetence, mistakes, desire, thoughts of home. The difference, in my opinion, is that while both write in a way that makes you feel present, O'Brien is more of a craftsman. Styron used so many obscure words that I kept thinking, "He had to have sat with a thesaurus on his lap." There just wasn't any reason for a lot of his word choices, other than to sound fancy. So, I liked The Suicide Run for the realistic feel of the writing but it was not a favorite.

The Song of the Tree by Coralie Bickford-Smith is a book I bought on the basis of an Instagram post. It sounded lovely, and it is. It's the story of a bird who loves the tree he lives in and when it comes time to migrate, the bird doesn't want to leave for fear of the tree becoming lonely. But, then, in few words over beautiful page spreads, the bird finds that there are many other creatures hanging out in or near the tree and it will never be lonely.

Satisfied, the bird flies away. The Song of the Tree has been described as a "picture book for grown-ups" and I think that's an apt description. It could be read to a child (or by a child) but it just feels like it's meant for adults in some indefinable way. Still, I would probably pass it on to my granddaughters if this particular copy, which I purchased secondhand by mail, didn't happen to have a rather strong odor. It is one smelly book. I suspect it may have been a library book that had its cover removed and was resold. I'm sensitive to smell and it just feels dirty with that unpleasant scent, so I'll probably just donate my copy of The Song of the Tree when the library reopens. Maybe someone else will be able to tolerate it.

I've read The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy enough times, over the years (I originally read the Turtle Point Press ARC in 2007) that I've lost count but it's been a few years since the last reading. It felt like coming home.

My two favorite stories remain the same. "Where They Hide is a Mystery" and "Little Birds" mean the most to me. Those who have dropped by my blog for many years will know that I met up with Simon Van Booy in 2007 and interviewed him. Later, I went with Carrie of Care's Books and Pie to see him speak in Boston. I've bought almost every book he's published since we met. His writing is a marvel and I appreciated The Secret Lives of People in Love as much on this reading as I have the many readings of the past, possibly more because it was the blankie I needed.

I chose to read The Secret Lives of People in Love when the pandemic isolation started to get to me. I needed a comfort read and it absolutely fit my aching need. I may pull Love Begins in Winter off the shelves and read that, soon. There's sadness and hardship in Simon's stories but always a ray of light, as well.

Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins is another reread that I pulled off the shelf, both for comfort and because it's National Poetry Month. Have to squeeze in at least a little poetry in April!

I love Billy Collins' poetry but I have to confess that I felt a little impatient with this book and I don't know why. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for Collins, after all. Or, maybe I needed something new. He apparently has a new book coming out soon, Whale Day. I was disappointed to find that it's not available till September and only in hardback or Kindle. Had it already been available and in paperback, I would have happily broken my current book-buying ban to get a copy. It's probably for the best that it's not.

I should mention that Sailing Alone Around the Room has always been my favorite of the Billy Collins books I own (I think I have 4 of them). It contains selections from a number of his other books, so I guess it's along the lines of a "greatest hits" type of book. I like how straightforward his poetry is. There's no scowling at his lines and wondering what on earth he's getting at. He's also very witty. Simon once asked me if I've ever met Billy Collins and I said no. He said, "He's very serious." I guess you should expect that of a poet. They're probably a little pained by the sharpness of their observations.

At any rate, it might not have been the best time for this particular volume of poetry but I remain a Collins fan and it wasn't a misery to reread. I just sometimes felt like, "I see what you're doing, here." I was too moody for it, maybe, thinking I saw through the poet in some mysterious way (which makes me giggle to think of). I still feel like I need to read more poetry so we'll see what I can come up with from the personal shelves, this month.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Sadness of Beautiful Things by Simon Van Booy

[...] Every heart had belonged to someone, somewhere. 

Lenny had seen films about it, but there were those who were actually present, those whose cries tore the air, whose bones are in earth, turning every thousand years. Those whose lives we still touch through the sadness of beautiful things. 

p. 142

A young family's house burns and they have no insurance, but an anonymous neighbor mysteriously offers to replace it. A man becomes almost paralyzed with depression but when he's reminded of a special memento, he realizes he must fulfill a childhood dream. When a boxer is mugged, it becomes a surprising opportunity to help turn the mugger's life around. In The Sadness of Beautiful Things, the contrast between tragedy and beauty is illuminated in simple, gorgeous prose.

I always take longer than I want to to review Simon Van Booy's new books because I have to read them two or three times, before I can write about them. The first time I just soak up the beauty of his words. The second time, I let myself mark favorite passages. If there's a third time, it's usually just because I can't bear to put the book on the shelf, yet, and want to experience the stories one last time. And, then, of course I return to his books when I need to immerse myself in something wondrous. Once again, the pattern held and I read the new book twice.

The Sadness of Beautiful Things is a collection of short stories (one of which may come close to being novella length, although I can't say for sure) that are written in his typical prose: few words, but with impact and a unique rhythm that is quickly recognizable if you've read any of his previous books. From the title, you can tell that each of the stories delves into real life, the highs and lows, how things can be both beautiful and horrible at the same time, like snow falling on an accident site. Most of the stories in The Sadness of Beautiful Things are based on true stories that were told to the author.

Highly recommended - As usual, I have some particular favorites, but I always fall in love with Simon Van Booy's short stories and The Sadness of Beautiful Things is yet another wonderful volume that I'll place on the good shelves and return to many times.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things by Simon Van Booy

"So we're in London," Gertie said, looking around at the men in dark suits and women in tall feathery hats. "Have you been here? Where is it?" 

"It's in far western Europe, capital city of an island that's known for bad weather, horrible food, and people who are exceedingly polite--when they're not trying to invade your country." 

~p. 145

***This review may contain some spoilers. Please skip down to the rating if you're concerned!!***

I've read several middle readers, lately, and I have to tell you I'm impressed with the quality of the reading material. Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things by Simon Van Booy is the most adventurous of the books I've read, lately, and if you've hung around my blog for any length of time, you know I love a good adventure. It's also a little bonkers - such an imaginative world!

Gertie Milk doesn't know where she is or where she came from. She doesn't even know her own name until she sees it embroidered on the gown she's wearing. All she knows is that she's on a beach and needs to get to high ground before the ocean swallows her. It's a challenge climbing to the top of the island she's on, but once she gets there she is taken in by a man named Kolt, who lives in a very strange house that is both filled with and surrounded by things that have been lost. He is a Keeper of Lost Things and the Keeper's job is to care for these lost items and return them when needed, as directed by a large, dusty, magical book. He is the last of the Keepers but he's not sure why, although the Keepers have an enemy called the Losers.

When Gertie discovers a key in her pocket, Kolt tells her she is a Keeper, as well. To return items, she and Kolt will travel through time and face all sorts of challenges, meet a new friend called Robot Rabbit Boy, and glimpse history. But, the Losers are out to stop the Keepers from doing their job, forever. And, Gertie will be torn when she finds out the truth about her past.

Highly recommended - What a crazy and fun adventure! As I was reading Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things, I kept thinking to myself, "I would have loved this as a child and would have read it over and over again." As an adult, I appreciated learning a little history that I was unfamiliar with (I'd never heard of Mercedes Gleitze, who swam across the English Channel). And, I love a book with a young heroine. Adventurous children's books tend to skew male in the hero role; the more female protagonists making decisions, the better. I also loved the fact that Gertie is both in charge and emotional, brave but afraid, smart but flawed. Not everything is wrapped up but I don't recall it being such a cliffhanger that it put me off. Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things is the first in a series and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Cover thoughts: I love the cover of Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things! It not only contains elements of many of the interesting things about the book (so the cover image is relevant to the content), it's gorgeous and eye-catching and even looks a little three-dimensional from certain angles. Very cool!


©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Tales of Accidental Genius by Simon Van Booy

After being alone for a few days, she would feel some pull of inspiration. It could come from anywhere: lemons in a bowl were enough; the blowing trees in the park were enough; the migration of clouds; the color of water; words from a passing conversation she carried with her like loose stones. 

~ p. 52, from "The Muse"

And that was the problem with Michael Snow's screenplay, she realized, seeing the manuscript on her desk--that it worked so hard to conjure love, when love was most felt in its absence.

~ p. 58, from "The Muse"

When they landed at LAX, a uniformed driver from the hotel was holding a sign. "We should have told him our last name was Godot," David said. "Just for fun."

~ p. 73, from "Infidelity"

Let me just get the swooning part out of the way . . . Ohmygosh, how I love Simon Van Booy's writing.

OK, I can go on, now.

I read Tales of Accidental Genius in January, so this is a reread but not a second review. I don't know why I do this, but I always blast through Simon's books when I first get them and then I take my time slowly reading and absorbing, a second time. And, then I return to favorite short stories when I need an upper. I love his writing that much.

Tales of Accidental Genius is every bit as wonderful as Simon's other short story collections but a tiny bit different in that the last story is long enough that it appears to be a novella. On the blast-through reading, I was so surprised to find that the last story was the last story that I kept flipping to see when it would end. That final story begins about 1/3 of the way into the book . . . and yet, the stylized printing with fewer words on each page is maybe slightly deceptive (so I'm not certain that it's a novella). I think, for that reason, I loved it the second time in a way that I couldn't the first, simply because the surprising length of the final selection unbalanced me.

At any rate, I loved Tales of Accidental Genius on the first reading and I adored it the second time around. And, this happens every single time I read a book of Simon Van Booy's short stories. I always end up appreciating the nuances and rhythm and depth of heart even more when I reread. But, I just have to do the blast-through read, for some reason.

Counting the story that serves as an introduction to the final maybe-novella, there are 7 stories in Tales of Accidental Genius. Some favorites:

"The Menace of Mile End" - Elderly Mr. Baxter goes through the motions of living, occasionally bitter about the young people who make noise outside his solitary London flat, the back part of a former church wedged in an upscale business district. But, when a homeless man is attacked outside his home, Mr. Baxter discovers that he isn't such a curmudgeon, after all.

"The Goldfish" - Piper, an old man's goldfish, has gone belly up in his tank. Concerned, he goes to the aquarium and the vet but is unable to find answers. So he stops at a pet shop, where the compassion of a young man who understands pain leads to a beautiful ending.

Really, there's only one story I don't consider a favorite. But, I liked it. So, Tales of Accidental Genius is a 5-star read. The only problem I've really have had with the book, lately, is that I keep sitting down to write my review and as I'm thinking about the stories I think, "Wait. I want to read that, again," and dash off down the hallway with the book in hand. That's why I decided I'd better stop after describing two of the stories.

The "Genius" in the title is not regarding intelligence, at least not the kind that's measured with tests and numbers. Instead, it's about the genius of finding the perfect way to show compassion. I'll give you an example but since it tells what happens to Piper, the goldfish, I'm going to set it off with a spoiler warning . . .

*****SPOILER - SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED*****

The perfect way that young Akin finds to show compassion to an elderly man who doesn't realize his fish is actually dead? He tells the man Piper had twins and died in childbirth after slipping two new fish into the tank.

*****END SPOILER*****

It's those moments of brilliant emotional genius that make the book such an uplifting read, of course.

Highly recommended - One of my favorites, so far in 2016. I've read it twice (some stories 3 times) and I know I'll return to Tales of Accidental Genius many, many times. There's at least a little heartbreak in every story, but there's also an act of kindness. Tales of Accidental Genius is the kind of book you press to your heart when you finish it. Also, I think it's notable that Simon's sense of humor really shines through (as in that comment by the character, David, that he should have told the driver their name was Godot, so he'd have been waiting for Godot).

©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Father's Day by Simon Van Booy

Father's Day by Simon Van Booy
Copyright 2016 - Scheduled release date: April 26
Harper - Fiction
284 pp. (ARC received from HarperCollins)

This is going to be one of those rare occasions that I post part of the cover blurb because I think it's fairly well-written without spoiling anything:

At the age of six, a little girl named Harvey learns that her parents have died in a car accident. As she struggles to understand, a kindly social worker named Wanda introduces her to her only living relative: her uncle Jason, a disabled felon with a violent past and a criminal record. Despite his limitations -- and his resistance -- Wanda follows a hunch and cajoles Jason into becoming her legal guardian, convinced that each may be the other's last chance.

Moving between past and present, Father's Day weaves together the story of Harvey's childhood and her life as a young woman in Paris as she awaits her uncle's arrival for a Father's Day visit. To mark the occasion, Harvey has planned a series of gifts for Jason -- all leading to a revelation she believes will only deepen their bond.

You can listen to the first five minutes of Father's Day read by Bronson Pinchot, here.

Before I opened the book, Simon shared (with two of us planning to read Father's Day soon) a helpful tip via Twitter: "Just remember the language reflects the syntax and vernacular of the characters." You can hear the unusually childlike narration if you click through to the excerpt; and, it quickly becomes apparent why he mentioned syntax and vernacular. Although the prose sounds very much like Simon's other writing, it is definitely simplified -- slightly more clipped and not so heavy in metaphor. But, the reflective moments I love in Simon's writing weren't wholly absent:

He remembered when they were young and walked to school along Kissena Boulevard. Jason used to hold his brother's hand. He considered how memories hold our lives in place but weigh nothing and cannot be seen or touched.

~p. 50 of ARC (some changes may be made to the final print version)

My feelings about Father's Day are, admittedly, mixed. I recognize Simon's writing easily; if you handed me the book without a cover or an author name anywhere in it, I'm certain I'd recognize the writing as Simon's. There's a rhythm and weight to Simon's writing that's uniquely his and I love it. There's also the same lovely mix of hardship and uplifting moments, empathy for his characters, and the quivering undercurrent that trembles through all of his books . . . love, it says, is everything. I adore that about his writing, how it focuses on the small moments that show how important it is to care for our fellow humans.

Having said that, there were things that I didn't love about Father's Day. Jason was a hard character to like. Years later, visiting his daughter in Paris (she does not ever refer to him as her uncle, even in the early days), he has conquered many of his demons but he still has a sharp temper that he has to work hard to control. He's a man with a tendency to violence and, at one time, dissipation. Again, though, there is the undercurrent that tells you love can change a man; love can make someone work to be a better person. And, Jason does exactly that. There's even a little surprise that has to do with the reason he was sent to prison. I liked the way the author managed to sneak in that little surprise.

Recommended but not a favorite - I missed the complexity of Simon's other books and had more trouble getting into Father's Day than expected. My inability to focus, this year, may at least be partly to blame but I'm pretty sure it was not the only factor. I also was not even slightly surprised by Harvey's disclosure, toward the end of the book. And, yet, I enjoyed Father's Day for the usual reminder of how love can change a life, give a person hope, encourage him to change for the better. The blend of "loss and transcendence" (from the last paragraph of the cover blurb, which I didn't share) is something you can always bank on from Simon. There is a bit more darkness, fewer characters, a more simplistic storyline, but the pages of Father's Day resound with that same beautiful theme of love and light breaking through the darkness.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

First book of the year: Tales of Accidental Genius by Simon Van Booy

This is a new experience for me, choosing the book I wanted to read to start off the year. I usually have several books going, at any given time, and generally what I end up finishing first in the new year is a book I started in December. But, this time, I actually pondered how I'd begin my reading year in advance, both because I knew I was going to finish almost everything I had in progress (except for a book of letters written during the Great Depression, which may take me another year because I can only cope with it a little at a time) and because of posts by Sheila at Book Journey and Carrie at Care's Online Book Club. When it became obvious that I was going to finish Sherlock Chronicles in 2015 (I literally finished it 10 minutes before midnight), I knew I could finally choose a book to begin my year. So, my first book of the year was carefully selected: Tales of Accidental Genius by Simon Van Booy.

I chose Tales of Accidental Genius for two reasons:

1. It has been sitting by my bedside since it arrived, awaiting the right moment, and
2. Simon Van Booy is one of my favorite authors. His books are always uplifting in some way, and what better way to start a new year than with a book that you know will warm your heart and lift your spirits?

Sure enough, I loved Tales of Accidental Genius. No surprise there. When I closed the book, Saturday night, I had a smile on my face.

The stories are classic Simon: quirky, original, truthful, full of beauty and life. I'm always in awe of his writing.

I always, always read Simon's books at least twice. The first time through, I just read for joy without marking anything at all. The second time, I let myself flag passages and take notes. So, I have no quotes to share and this isn't really a review post so much as a note that I started off the reading year well. Now that it's occurred to me that starting off a year reading a book by Simon Van Booy is a great idea, maybe I'll know what I'm reading before the beginning of the year arrives, next time around, so I can join in on Sheila's First Book event.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy (full review)

The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy
Copyright 2013
Harper - Fiction/Literature
224 pp.

It was not Sébastien's France then, not a country of brioche and endless school, trips to the windy beach with the caravan in summer--but a country of mud, and women in aprons watching the giant skeletons pass above, spitting bullets into the guts of other skeletons.

Children then must have stood around in puddles wondering when their parents would come home, looking up at the sky for metal drops, or down at themselves in the gray water.  They were barefoot and thin. Sébastien has seen it on television.  And his grandmother has told him.

Sébastien feels what he has never experienced: houses on fire, dogs barking at people trying to hide. He has seen pictures in books too.  He knows something happened long ago--something bad. He can see it in the eyes of the children who live in the pages.

~pp. 44-45 

The impact was so intense that John mistook his panic for death itself. Smoke and freezing air filled the cabin. The B-24 nosed into a dive. He formed a ladder with the syllables of his wife's name. Each syllable a rung closer to her, but further from God.

~p. 89

Briefly, in my words:

Martin's adoption is a shadowy story; he owes his life to the compassion of others.

Mr. Hugo's childhood was a horror and he became a brute, but when he was called on to act out of kindness to save a single life, he made the right choice.  Later, his patience teaching young Danny would become a turning point in the child's life.

John loved deeply but thought his time was up when his WWII bomber plunged from the sky. Near death with the enemy pressed against him, he would make a surprising choice.

Sébastien discovered a black and white photograph in the skeleton of a burned plane. Kept in his possession till adulthood, the photograph would make its way to a special place.

Amelia's blindness couldn't keep her from seeing in her own way.  But, what she really wanted was to find love.

Separate people, separate lives - or so it appears.  But Martin, Mr. Hugo, Danny, John, Sébastien and Amelia's lives are interconnected and much of what happens in the book would not have occurred, if not for two acts of kindness.  Separateness, it seems, is just an illusion.

My wording is way different from the cover blurb.  I'm not sure I felt there was a point at which the "veil was lifted" to reveal the way their lives intersected to the individuals, as stated on the cover. Maybe I need to read The Illusion of Separateness a third time.  Silly statement.  Of course I'll read it a third time.  I always return to Simon's books.

What I loved about The Illusion of Separateness:

This is the second time I've read Simon Van Booy's latest release. During the reread, I took notes and drew arrows to remind myself how the characters were interconnected (which I'm going out of my way not to share because that's part of the joy of the book, discovering how the individuals are connected).  For some reason, writing it all down enabled me to look at the reading with an objectivity that I lacked on the first time through.

And, I'm pleased to say that I was even more astonished by the skill of Simon's writing, the sheer beauty and elegance, the stunning way he drew the portraits of a number of people individually, gradually revealing the ways in which their lives intersected.  Good Lord, that man can write.  There is such a gorgeous rhythm and warmth to his stories.  I felt that way the first time I read his work and I am still completely gobsmacked by the pure poetry and the way Simon doesn't shrink from the harsh side of life but puts a spotlight on the positives to being human, in this case the little acts of kindness and how they reverberate through generations.

What I disliked about The Illusion of Separateness:

On the first reading, I had a little difficulty getting into the book (probably due to fatigue) and then thought the ending was a tiny bit abrupt before I realized the stories had, in fact, been perfectly wrapped up. I was simply jolted by the fact that it was over.  I would have happily kept reading for another 700 pages if Simon had kept on writing. The second time, taking notes clarified the interconnections and made the perfection of the ending point clear to me.  In other words, I really didn't dislike anything at all.

Off the wall:

There's a touch of spirituality that I don't recall in Simon's previous books.  I'm going to add a quote from 2 paragraphs above the spiritual bit, simply because it's a lovely sentence:

Anyone who is desperate or alone will agree there is comfort in routine. [. . . ]

I liked mornings there.  I felt light. I glanced up even--to Him.  I  talked quietly to Him. I felt Him listening.  Lost my way, I told Him. But He knows. Was there when it happened.

~p. 109

And, now, having copied that quote I just noticed that God is mentioned in one of John's passages, above.  

An incidental digression:

Part of the time I was reading and taking notes I had a kitten attacking my pen, which I thought was entirely apropos because kittens are small, furry bundles of joy and Simon's writing is always, always uplifting.

The bottom line:

Highly recommended - A stunningly complex yet simply beautiful story in which the author weaves individual stories together to illuminate the small yet strikingly meaningful ways in which humans are interconnected.

I blasted my way through The Illusion of Separateness, the first time.  I always get completely swept up in the beauty of Simon's writing that the story itself can take second place in the reading process and that was definitely the case with The Illusion of Separateness.  Taking notes helped me get a better understanding of the interconnections and the meaning, although this YouTube video of Simon talking about The Illusion of Separateness is also helpful.  

Cover thoughts:

I like the simplicity and I love the color.  The finished copy has an interesting metallic sheen that is absolutely beautiful.  At some point, I recall seeing a different cover option that I also liked.  I think I saved it.  Wait here.  I'll go look.

Yep, here 'tis:

Now that I think about it, I'm unsure whether the image above was an alternative that was considered for the U.S. publication or perhaps one that will be used elsewhere, but I love it because it's clearly a WWII photo.  Black and white photos from that time period are always favorites of mine.

Source:  I received an ARC from HarperCollins and then purchased a finished copy. Quotes are from the finished publication.

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy - First thoughts (not a full review)

I will write more about The Illusion of Separateness after a second reading (note that I'm not even going to write a synopsis, although it's a combination of WWII and contemporary) because there are always reasons I feel like I need to reread a book by Simon Van Booy before I can write a thoughtful review about it.

My first thought, as I was going into the reading was that I had absolutely no idea where Simon was taking me but I was thrilled to be back in his world.  His writing is transcendent.  Even though I didn't know where the story was headed, I absolutely did not care.  I was just happy to be there.

There are numerous strands in The Illusion of Separateness and it takes quite some time before you begin to see them intertwine and become not just knotted together but meshed.  I loved that.  On this first reading, I felt that the ending was a little abrupt, but when I looked back I realized Simon had finished tying all those bits together and I was just enjoying myself so much I didn't want the book to end.

It's possible I have become a little biased by my friendship with Simon, but I gave The Illusion of Separateness 5 stars at Goodreads because it was an experience.  I was completely swept away, immersed in Simon's heavily-metaphorical, lyrical world.  I will always love Simon's writing and a part of that has to do with the fact that he is such a terrific guy, but there's no escaping the fact that he is a careful craftsman.  I could practically see the sweat on the pages.

The Illusion of Separateness is scheduled for release in early June.  I ordered a finished copy as soon as it became available for pre-order but when it came up for review I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go ahead and read it early.  I highly recommend it and believe it would make a good group read. There were things I wanted to discuss, when I closed the book.  Hopefully, I'll eventually be able to talk my F2F group into reading The Illusion of Separateness (although they insist on waiting for the paperback, so I'll have quite a wait).

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Monday Malarkey, including a writing workshop, reading update and fancy pants

First the fancy pants:

I saw a cat photo that was similar to this and thought it was so cute that I snapped a shot of Isabel's fancy pants. I hope she doesn't mind if I share with the world.

The writing workshop:

Simon Van Booy is teaching a writing workshop in the Berkshires of New Hampshire in June. For details, click on that first sentence (which leads to his website) or Download the PDF. I am, of course, a huge admirer of Simon, both as a writer and a person. If I could attend, I would. I had fun fiddling with that photo of Simon, taken at his reading in the Boston Public Library in 2011.

And, the reading update:

I have been fairly quiet because I haven't had the urge to write, since Kiddo returned home; and, last week I had Rebellious Reading Brain. None of my ARCs were appealing to me. So, I took a break from the ARC stack to read the following:

Pure by Julianna Baggott - I put Pure on my wish list a couple months before it was published, after reading about the bidding war over the manuscript and the early sale of movie rights to the book, then my friend Tammy sent me her copy. Thank you, Tammy! Pure was just what I needed -- a wildly original combination of post-apocalyptic and dystopian reading, the first in a trilogy. It's very dark, but I liked the fact that even the "Pures" in the dome are living in a dystopian world, although the "wretches" outside think life in the dome must be perfect.

Tammy and I had a really fun discussion about Pure. We both detected different themes. Tammy noticed a WWII influence (the Detonations, based on the aftermath of Hiroshima and the attempt to create a superior race) and I thought the author was making a statement about today's America (pre-Detonation, the red-flag-waving Pures were diluting women's rights, for example). I'm tempted to reread Pure and highlight the parts I thought related to our current society because I rushed through the book so quickly that I didn't mark a thing.

Two Wars by Nate Self - The memoir of an Army Ranger whose chinook was hit by an RPG during a mission to recover a man who fell out of a helicopter in Afghanistan, told in the usual fashion. First a prologue teaser scene as Self and the other Rangers are shot down, then all the way back to why the author joined the Army, his training at West Point, romance and marriage, early Army postings, the crash and firefight, then the aftermath.

Two Wars is a Tyndale book and therefore has a Christian bent, which I liked. The training part was a bit slow, I thought, but I was never tempted to put it down. I wanted to read about the crash and I'm used to the slow build-up in a war book. Huzzybuns is also reading this book and I enjoyed talking to him about it as I was reading. The only real let-down was the PTSD section. The author really didn't go into much detail about his post-traumatic stress experience. The crash and firefight are extremely gripping.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd - I think this one is a middle reader, although Amazon says it's for ages 8 and up and I can never remember exactly what a "middle reader" is. Salim is visiting his cousins in London and goes for a ride on the London Eye. When the ride ends and Salim doesn't get off, cousins Ted and Kat decide to investigate his disappearance.

I've had The London Eye Mystery on my wish list for a couple years and just finally got a copy on Saturday. I gobbled it down on Sunday before we left the house to see The Avengers and have loaned it to my son's girlfriend. What makes The London Eye Mystery really special is the fact that Ted is autistic and the way he functions makes it easier for him to see clues that the adults have overlooked. A very satisfying little mystery that's ingenious and very entertaining. Autism is never mentioned specifically, but Ted does comment that Einstein may have had the same condition.

I also read half of The Queen: A Life in Brief by Robert Lacey, last night, and will likely finish that up, today. The good news is that it's one from the ARC stacks. Hopefully, I've exited my ARC-resistant phase. The Queen is about Queen Elizabeth II and the author apparently apparently writes only about royals. It's distilled from two of his larger works about Queen Elizabeth, a small bite of a book written especially for her Diamond Jubilee year and it's a pretty breezy read.

In other news:

I still am finding that I don't feel much like sitting at the computer to write, so posting may be a little sporadic, although I hope not. I have several reviews to catch up on. I'm going to skip writing full reviews of Pure, The London Eye Mystery and Two Wars.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Pobble's Way by Simon Van Booy and Wendy Edelson

Pobble's Way by Simon Van Booy and Wendy Edelson

Copyright 2010

Flashlight Press - Children's (Ages 5 and up)

32 pages

Reason for reading: I am crazy about the children's books published by Flashlight Press because they're consistently excellent and the printing is high quality -- nice, shiny hardback covers beneath match slipcovers and the pages are a nice weight. So I asked if I could review a few of their backlist titles ("begged" might be a more appropriate word). Simon Van Booy is, of course, one of my favorite authors and Pobble's Way is a book I've been anxious to read.

Brief summary: Pobble and her daddy go for a walk in the snow, one evening. When Pobble loses one of her pink mittens, the woodland animals all have a different idea of what exactly that pink fuzzy thing might be.

Pobble's Way is a charming and creative story. Before Pobble loses her mitten, she and her father play an imaginative game.

Daddy smiled and pointed to a floating leaf.

"What is it, Daddy?" Pobble asked.

"It's a butterfly raft!" he said

Pobble giggled.

Just below is an illustration of a butterfly on a floating leaf. Another leaf, the sail, is held in place by a twig.

"My turn now," Pobble called, pointing

at some chubby winter mushrooms.

"Look at those, Daddy"

"What are they?" he asked.

"Frog umbrellas!" Pobble announced.

Daddy laughed.

Adorable! The illustrations are really just perfect. The humans look human but their clothing is wildly colorful, the leaves bright and cheery, the snowy background shades of purple and blue with white highlights, and the animals are pretty, not cutesy.

After Pobble's mitten is lost, the animals theorize about the mitten, each thinking it wildly different. The squirrel thinks it's cotton candy, the mouse claims it's an emergency mouse house (the cut-away illustration of three mice sleeping inside the mitten with tiny pillows, blankets and a book, shown below, is my absolute favorite illustration), the owl thinks it's a wing warmer, and so forth. Finally, the deer corrects them all, explaining that it is a mitten and they're meant to keep children's hands warm in the winter.

Just then, Daddy crunches through the snow and the animals dive for cover. He finds the mitten and asks Pobble what it is.

"Oooh, Daddy," Pobble gasped,

"it's a baby cloud!"

The animals laugh, except for the sleeping mouse, and the book ends with a lovely description of the moon.

5/5 - Highly recommended! A clever and beautifully-written story and gorgeous, bright illustrations that are more realistic than cartoonish make Pobble's Way the kind of book I get all gushy about. I just love it. I think it could easily be read to children as young as 3, just depending upon the individual. There's nothing particularly girly about Pobble's Way; little boys will love it, too. As much as it's a tale that encourages creative thinking, it's also a story of a sweet and loving relationship between a father and child.

The endpapers are also wonderful - a map showing Pobble's House and the woods, with the animals' homes labeled and illustrations of each animal next to its home. I wish I could show you a little more of the inside. I snatched two of my favorite images from Amazon because I let my camera battery run low, but I've since been informed that you can look inside every title at the Flashlight Press site. Click on the "Look Inside" button above the image to see inside Pobble's Way.

In keeping with the purple that seems to be running heavily through this post, I give you an iris from bulbs my mother brought me about a decade ago. I have more iris photos I'll share, eventually. They were pretty breathtaking, this year. Some years they take time off from blooming, but not this year!

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Copyright 2011

Harper Perennial - Fiction

402 pages

Rebecca, George and Henry are wounded souls. Each has come to Athens to live and work. Rebecca is an artist from the French countryside who is still pained by her mother's abandonment. Henry is an archeologist from Wales who remains deeply wounded by a death for which he blames himself. George is an American from Kentucky with a knack for languages and a troubled soul. George falls in love with Rebecca but Rebecca falls in love with Henry. Then, Henry and George meet and discover that they're both in love with the same woman after they become fast friends.

"Ah, a love triangle!" you say to yourself. But, then tragedy strikes and suddenly the book takes a wild turn. No longer a tale of two men in love with the same woman, the story becomes a mad tale of grief for one of the characters, a life-changing revelation for the other. When the two survivors take off in different directions, you follow one of the characters on an unsuccessful attempt to run away from grief, only to find that it's in facing up to the past that one creates a future.

We go back to move forward.

But going back is like returning to a house where everyone moved out long ago; for the only life that dwells within memory is the shallow breath of your misplaced desire.

--from p. 218 of Everything Beautiful Began After

My description of Everything Beautiful Began After is deliberately vague because I think half the joy of reading this book is in the surprises -- the plot twists and the alterations in characters as they deal with tragedy in remarkably different ways. Even the point-of-view changes during one section of the book, so that the reader is temporarily placed in the shoes of a character in the throes of grief so deep as to be pathological.

What I love about Everything Beautiful Began After:

I'm particularly fond of the relationship between Henry and George and the scenes that make it clear that neither man is more deserving of love, even if one is rejected by Rebecca -- that fate is a part of life and intertwined in the stories of the three characters. For example, there's a scene in which George and Rebecca are talking and a kitten is walking around behind the tire of a car in the street. As George and Rebecca part, she looks back and sees George bend over to pick up the kitten and move it away from danger. George is an alcoholic and a bit of a disaster but it's in those small moments that you gather hints of his potential for redemption. He's not totally lost from the world; he's still a caring human being. The way Henry sees this in George is also endearing.

"Why is it so dirty back here?" George said again.

"Ever hear of a Nigerian Hercules Baboon spider?" the professor exclaimed.

"Definitely not," George said.

Henry watched him in the mirror--not with coolness or relief, but with a compassion that extended beyond the moment, as though behind the bruised eyes and the quivering mouth he could sense the presence of a small boy the world had forgotten about.

-- p. 128

There are also a lot of quirky, smile-inducing moments: a comical phone call from Henry to his parents in Wales, a scene in which Henry and George fall asleep and wake up realizing they'd drifted off while enjoying each other's company, that they are like long-lost brothers. The description of the car and office owned by the professor at the archeological dig are also gems, as are the scenes in France when Henry rents a car and makes an error setting the GPS then is stuck with the a GPS speaking to him in a language he can't decipher.

Professor Peterson's office was the most dangerous place on campus. Books piled ten feet high leaned dangerously in various directions. On the tallest tower of books, a note had been hung halfway up:

Please walk VERY slowly or I may fall on you without any warning, whatsoever.

There were three oak desks with long banker's lamps that the professor liked to keep lit, even in his absence. On his main desk were hundreds of Post-it notes, each scribbled with some important detail or addendum to his thoughts. There were also hundreds of pins stuck in a giant map that had been written on with a fountain pen. The ashtrays were full of pipe ash and the room had that deep aroma of knowledge: old paper, dust, coffee, and tobacco.

-- p. 129

What I didn't love about Everything Beautiful Began After:

The prologue is dense with metaphor -- so heavy that it's a little exhausting to read. It takes a while for the fog of metaphor to clear. However, once you get past the first 20 pages or so, the book is much more readable and the further you read, the more compelling and gripping the story becomes. When you reach the end, you'll immediately want to reread the prologue and it will make sense.

I've read Everything Beautiful Began After twice, now, and I felt the same way, both times, although I loved the book even more on the second reading. The first time through, I neglected to mark any passages because I plowed through it so fast, dying to know what would be come of the character who was so paralyzed by grief. On the second reading, I was equally mesmerized but I took the time to mark a few favorite lines.

Here are a few more quotes I like:

The beauty of artifacts is in how they reassure us we're not the first to die.

-- p. 13

"This is the old marketplace," Henry said, "where Zeno came up with a few of his lines."

"I see," Rebecca said. She had no idea who Zeno was, but imagined a masked man with a sword in fishing waders. Then Henry stopped walking and recited something to a slumped dog under a bush.

"Every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires."

The dog sat up and began to pant.

-- p. 49

"I think he looks lonely," Rebecca said.

"But there are always people on the street below his balcony--"

"That doesn't mean anything," Rebecca interrupted. "Loneliness is like being the only person left alive in the universe, except that everyone else is still here."

-- p. 67

To love again, you must not discard what has happened to you, but take from it the strength you'll need to carry on.

-- p. 372

The bottom line: A beautifully written, surprising story of love and loss, grief and hope. Lovely imagery and setting, likable characters and a believable storyline make Everything Beautiful Began After an excellent read. As in all of Simon Van Booy's writing, there is a startling amount of wisdom and humor (the mice and their poisonous plops -- you have to read it to understand!) and always, always hope, even during the darkest moments. Even better on the second reading and well worth owning.

Other reviews:

Marg's review is wonderful

Wendy's review is equally awesome

On a personal note:

I've already mentioned that Carrie and I got to hang out together in Boston to hear Simon do a reading and answer questions about Everything Beautiful Began After. We also got together with Simon for coffee before his reading. I hadn't seen Simon since I "interviewed" him in 2007 (it was more like a chat than an interview). Someday, I'm going to lure him to Mississippi for a reading and signing, but that hasn't happened, yet!

Simon is one of the most delightful men I've ever met. Carrie and I had a blast chatting with him and enjoyed his reading. He is an exceptional speaker but talking with him one-on-one will make you a fan for life. He is truly a man I highly admire and am honored to call my friend. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his readings, signings or events, you really must. Tell him Bookfool sent you. :)

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Weekly Reading Update #4 - Incl. mini reviews of The Call, The Lost Wife and The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine

I thought last week would be a bad reading week because I spent half of my week in New England with Carrie, aka Care of Care's Online Book Club. I told her Simon Van Booy would be doing a reading at the Boston Public Library and advised her to go, a couple months ago. She said, "Why don't you come up here and go to the reading with me?" Well . . . who can pass up an invitation to hang out with a friend and see a favorite author in the same trip?

Simon was amazing, of course. He is a spectacular speaker, poised and elegant, charming and self-deprecating, witty and insightful. If you haven't read any of his books -- his novel, Everything Beautiful Began After and the two short story collections, The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter -- you really must. And, if you ever have an opportunity to see him, don't pass it up!!!

Of course, Carrie is always a blast to hang out with.

As it turned out, I still had a terrific reading week. Here's what I read:

The Call by Yannick Murphy (fiction) is about a veterinarian in Vermont whose son gets shot and goes into a coma. The vet thinks he's seeing spaceships, then something happens and he has to make a life-changing decision. That's a vast simplification. The Call is a riot. It's also touching, and an all-around good story, definitely one of the most enjoyable books I've picked up in a while. I highly recommend The Call, especially if you're looking for a quick, light and delightful read with plenty of drama and depth. I left my copy with Carrie because she asked. "Ask and ye shall receive" apparently still works just fine.

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman is the story of a couple who are married and only together as husband and wife for a few days. Czechoslovakia is on the brink of invasion and Lenka refuses to leave her beloved family behind when her husband's family manages to acquire only enough visas to allow her to travel with them, but not her father, mother and sister. She reads his name in a list of dead after a U-boat attack. He believes she died in Auschwitz. Years later, they meet at the wedding of their grandchildren. The Lost Wife is a novel based on a true story and it's a good one. The only problem I had with it was a few weird tense changes. I'm guessing the author was trying to imbue certain scenes with an immediacy that past tense wouldn't allow, but the occasional switch to present tense was simply confusing. Otherwise -- great story, nicely written but not brilliantly so. Definitely recommended.

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky is a book that Carrie playfully shoved on me and which I started reading almost immediately. I'd only brought The Call and Simon's Everything Beautiful Began After with me and I finished The Call the night I arrived. My first thought, as I began reading The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine, was that reading it was probably the closest I've ever come to the reading equivalent of gawking at a car wreck. It's compelling, but why? Why couldn't I tear my eyes away? Possibly because it's really quite funny, if a bit freaky and disturbing. Rosa believes herself to be beautiful and perfect, the mother of an ugly, stupid daughter named Sulfia. Rosa accepts her daughter's explanation for her mysterious pregnancy -- that she dreamed of a man and became pregnant. Surely no man would have her ugly daughter.

When her granddaughter Aminat arrives, Rosa takes charge. Obviously, Sulfia is too dim and preoccupied to care for her own child. But, while this fierce grandmother works, takes care of her grandchild, henpecks her husband and drives her daughter batty, she also manages to keep all of them alive during a time of rationing and despair in Russia. Rosa is at once clueless and tenacious, self-confident to the point of being strident, baffling and fascinating, devious and admirable.

It's not a spoiler, to share the final two lines to give you a peek into Rosa's crazy, irreverent mode of speech:

"I was afraid to hear that she had already been there and that I hadn't noticed. I much preferred freeing metal countertops from encrusted bits of food and sending silent thanks to God, mechanically, out of courtesy--I mean, so he wouldn't feel totally useless."

In the end, I decided The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine is, at its core, a survival story and I loved it. Now, I want to read Alina Bronsky's first book, Broken Glass Park. Thanks for sharing your copy of Tartar, Carrie!!!

Care's Review

Softdrink's Review

I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Oracle of Stamboul, which I just began reading last night. It's a tour book that I'll review later this week. I didn't take anything from my sidebar along to Massachusetts, so the rest of those books are still languishing. Hopefully, I can begin to amend that, this week. I'll be home for a good, long time, now!

Just FYI, the Boston Public Library is full of awesome:

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

You can buy Simon's book, now!

Yesterday was the official release of Simon Van Booy's first novel, Everything Beautiful Began After!! Go buy a copy!! You won't regret it, I promise. I have a tour, tomorrow, and I must admit that I rushed through the tour book a bit, so that I could return to reading Simon's novel. I am reading Everything Beautiful Began After slowly, savoring his words. If you like beautiful writing, you simply cannot lose with a book written by Simon Van Booy.

Why We Need Love, ed. by Simon Van Booy

Why We Need Love, edited by Simon Van Booy

Copyright 2010

Harper Perennial - Philosophy

237 pages

Student: Why does one feel the necessity of love?

Krishnamurti: You mean, why do we have love? Why should there be love? Can we do without it? What would happen if you did not have this so-called love? If your parents began to think out why they love you, you might not be here. They might throw you out. They think they love you; therefore they want they want to protect you, they want to see you educated, they feel that they must give you every opportunity to be something. This feeling of protection, this feeling of wanting you to be educated, this feeling that you belong to them, is what they generally call love. Without it, what would happen? What would happen if your parents did not love you? You would be neglected, you would be something inconvenient, you would be pushed out, they would hate you. So fortunately, there is this feeling of love, perhaps clouded, perhaps besmirched and ugly, but there is still that feeling, fortunately for you and me; otherwise you and I would not have been educated, would not exist.

--from On Love and Loneliness by Jiddu Krishnamurti with students at Rajghat School, Dec. 19, 1952, as quoted in Why We Need Love, p. 222

Doesn't that look like great food for discussion? I may have to bring up this series in my face-to-face book group because I would absolutely love to have a chance to sit around and discuss the readings, quotes and artwork in all three books.

I've written lengthy reviews of the first two of Simon Van Booy's three-book philosophy series, here:

Why We Fight

Why Our Decisions Don't Matter

I saved Why We Need Love for last because I thought it would be my favorite and it wasn't, but that doesn't in any way diminish my opinion of the book and the enjoyment I got from the reading. It just wasn't my favorite, that's all.

Like the other books in Simon's philosophy series, Why We Need Love contains selected readings, including poetry, quotations and excerpts from both fiction and non-fiction works as well as works of art, with introductions by the editor. As in the other books, I thought the intros were surprisingly illuminating and the choices of reading material were, for the most part, exceptional.

One thing I really love about this series is that it gives readers who may not have a comprehensive background in literature a chance to dip their toes in the waters of many rivers, so to speak. The variety of readings are not only about love making hearts beat faster and people swoon; there are also readings that make you think about alternatives. In one case, lust is mistaken for love with hilarious and rather horrifying results.

The bottom line:

I loved all three of the books in Simon Van Booy's philosophy series and Why We Need Love was not my favorite but I still enjoyed it immensely. The conversation from which I drew a quote, above, was among my favorite readings but I even liked the passages from Ethan Frome! I know half of you vibrated in horror when I said that, but Simon has done an excellent job of selecting only the bits of literature and philosophy that are most relevant to each topic to create books worth thinking about, talking about and owning. I highly recommend this entire

series.

Cover thoughts:

That cover almost looks rude, doesn't it? Maybe I've been reading Fail Blog too much and I'm sensitive to things that resemble things. I sense that it's warping me badly.

My thanks to Simon Van Booy and HarperPerennial for the review copies of the three books in this series!!

In other news:

Next up will be a list of my November reads in review, a review of E. C. Osondu's Voice of America, and a Books In/Books Out report for the week of December 13-20 (not necessarily in that order). I'm also about halfway through Beneath the Thirteen Moons and plan to review that before I shut down for the holidays. The volunteer firefighters' parade (Santa's way at the back, on the last fire truck-- and he didn't wave . . . weird) has already passed through our neighborhood, so I'm actually late taking off for the holidays. Actually, I'm just late all-around. You should see the blank space beneath our Christmas tree.

Two books have not made it into my sidebar:

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie - which I read for my book group. And, then I wasn't able to attend the meeting. Major bummer. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the reading, since I'm not a big fan of mysteries.

Let it Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle - Three interconnected young adult Christmas romances written by three terrific authors. I'm on the final story so I guess the cover won't make it into my sidebar, but I'm enjoying the book. It's extremely fluffy reading, perfect for the holiday season.

Back for more fun, tomorrow! Happy Reading!!

©2010 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.