The one had leaves of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadows of his fluttering leaves.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
So many books...
August 22, 2008
July 15, 2008
What? Not a Bestseller?
"Their love was as mobile as their home and just as carefree". That kills me! Even if I'm not sure I know what that means. I think that woman in the yellow dress might have something to do with it, though!
May 28, 2008
2nd Generation
Look what my fourth grader found at the book store last weekend! Leave it to her to find a book with an Airstream on the cover: Trixie Belden in The Red Trailer Mystery. I guess it runs in the family...
February 03, 2008
In Reading Books
It's been mighty cold and snowy here in Minnesota, as you may well know. Perfect reading weather. Here in our little village between the lake and the bluff, I've been keeping warm in my Airstream jammies, chipping away at the pile of books on the nightstand.
None of them were terribly engaging and I was starting to get a little crabby about it. All this precious reading time, wasting away on mediocre best sellers. And, please, not another one about Afghanistan or the Middle East. I've read a few, I listen to NPR, I know it's important and I do care, but it's just not healthy to be saturating in sadness and ingesting injustice too much of the time. And don't even get me started on She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's book club list.
I told you I was crabby.
It was just about time to get out my tattered copy of Angle of Repose to read for at least the fourth time. Sure, I know how it ends, but reading Wallace Stegner is always worthwhile.
With all of this angst, you can imagine my relief when the New York Times came out with their 10 Best Books of 2007 list. Ah, recommendations from a trusted friend. Then another trusted friend, Judy, mentioned she'd just read one of the '10 Best' and so I had my two good reasons to read Out Stealing Horses by award-winning Norwegian novelist, Per Petterson.
It's the kind of book that had me making moaning noises usually reserved for when I'm on the receiving end of a good backrub. Then it put steady pressure on my heart until it actually ached a little: because the story is that powerful, because Petterson is that gifted a writer. It's the kind of book that stays with you for a while, floating around your thoughts like ribbons of white smoke. It's the kind of book you want to urge all your friends to read.
Consider yourself urged.
BONUS POINT: The book is published by Graywolf Press, an independent publisher based in St. Paul. Lots of Norwegians here, ya know.
TypePad Profile
Get updates on my activity.
Follow me on my Profile.
