Whisked Away...

Once upon a time my Man and I went on a trip. The purpose of this trip is for him to attend a conference and for me to attend to the two overflowing bags of books that I packed to keep me company in the hotel room and on patios and umbrellaed cafe porches in the surrounding town. We have made an annual habit of this get-away for the past 5 years and it is this retreat that on particularly stressful days/weeks/months that I place my hopes of rest and refreshment.

I have few expectations for this week away: to sleep well, to read lots, to put some thoughts down on a page, to browse a bookstore or two, and to enjoy a few meals speaking in complete sentences with my husband.

Tomorrow is the end of our week away and I've slept, eaten, conversed meaningfully, browsed, written a sentence or two, and oh how I've read! The cream of the crop, the book I read in one day and was sad to have finished, the book I will likely read again in years to come is...

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

by Gabrielle Zevin

I cannot get my heart around the story well enough to use my own words so I will tell you what the cover copy says...

"This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love--love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory." ~Eowyn Ivy, author of The Snow Child

“Zevin has done something old-fashioned and fairly rare these days. She has written an entertaining novel, modest in its scope, engaging and funny without being cloying or sentimental. On top of all that, it is marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both.” —The Washington Post

If you'd like to hear more about this book you can click here to listen to one of my favorite book podcasts Books on the Night Stand. If you only want to hear about the particular book, fast forward to the 22:30 mark though the entire podcast is a good one. (The other book they mention, Ruth Reichl's Delicious, is on my list to read this summer.)

For another great "listen" click here to listen to the author talk about the book on NPR's All Things Considered. 

Happy, happy reading!