What do you want?

What do you want from a book? I'm talking about those books that you cannot put down and you will not forget when you've finished them.

Do you just want to escape to another place? Or are there certain things you expect from a novel?

When I close a great book after reading the last page, I always take my time and I usually sit there, holding the book, remembering. It’s almost like waving goodbye to friends and watching the car drive away until I cannot see it anymore.

One book stands out to me in this regard. Taking Liberties by Diana Norman really stuck with me. I actually missed the main characters after I put the book down. I want a book that leaves me wanting more, like when I eat a cookie that was delicious but too small.

Another must-have take away for me is something that grabs my mind. If I find either a surprise, or an interesting philosophical question or an idea that’s new to me, I will remember the book forever.

Lastly, it must be gripping. I must need to keep reading.

What elements do you look for in a great read?

It's a Sibling Thing

I’ve been sucked in by my current read, Kate Morton’s The Distant Hours. I am fascinated by the familial relationships she tackles. The protagonist spends most of the book uncovering the intricacies of a particular family: A father, twin daughters and their younger sister—focusing mostly on the sisters. She describes their relationship like this: “The intricate tangle of love and duty and resentment that tied them together.”

Of course, this dragged my thoughts toward my own siblings. Love, yes, plenty. Duty, yes. Don’t mess with my family. Resentment gave me pause. I don’t actually resent my siblings—I tend more toward the love and duty, I think. But it does bring a few of our off-handed comments to mind. “She got to travel all the time with Mom and Dad. He never got caught—ever! She got caught every time she tried anything (giggle-giggle).” Which leads to other commentary . . . “The baby of the family has it made! The middle kid always gets the shaft. The oldest thinks she’s all that. Spare me!”

I’m writing about two girlfriends right now. Their bond is tight. But the sibling bond is somehow more fraught with the possibility for raw emotion. Losing a friend or hurting a friend is painful. But usually there is so much more invested in that sibling relationship. The hurt cuts deeper, misunderstanding can last longer and grate harder. 

Morton writes the experience of an outsider observing the sisters. “The glances they exchanged; the complicated balance of power established over decades; the games I would never play with rules I would never fully understand."

There’s something about a brother-sister/sister-sister/brother-brother connection that cuts straight to our core. I once heard someone say that siblings are like the only fellow countrymen in existence from their home planet. Truly, every household could be construed to be a separate planet.

Remember all your observations from that first sleepover in jr high? (They never eat ice cream! The mom plays the radio all day and all night! Their dad works on an old car in the garage 'til midnight every night!) Only those citizens who have lived it can empathize and fully understand. And only those citizens provide true comfort when homesickness sets in. Because at some point, we just can’t go home again and being with people who remember that home (good or bad) fills in the gaps better than anything else can.

Read The Distant Hours. For the siblings. For the castle. For the complete escape from your own castle. It made me think of my home and the wonderful gifts I have in my siblings.

What's your favorite castle?

There’s just something about a castle. It’s the quintessential setting. Throw a castle into almost any story and you have instant history, mystery and intrigue. They are full of shadows, forgotten corners and most definitely hidden secrets. I’ve heard it said that the setting of a book can become as much a character as the people in a novel, but I think it’s almost obligatory with a castle—and I’ll also include big houses for the purpose of this discussion.

For me, it started with Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. The fairy tale castle anchored in my mind the splendor, the exclusivity and the absolute “draw” of a castle.

One of the most memorable “dwelling characters” for me, is the large estate house in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. Also, Miss Minchin’s School for girls—how many attic rooms were there? And the Indian Gentleman’s home next door—accessible by roof, within the pages of The Little Princess.

The White Witch’s ice castle in Narnia, filled with stone statues.

What about Hogwart’s? There’s a living, breathing building for you. And who could forget Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights? Just this week, I’ve been wandering the halls within Milderhurst, found in the new novel, The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. This castle seems to almost breathe memories even as it crumbles. Truly wonderful and I haven’t finished the book yet!

What’s your favorite castle memory?

What does reading feel like?

Reading a great book is like sinking into a deep tub filled with hot water and covered with scented bubbles. The rest of the world falls away and you feel like you’re returning to your “other life.”

When I was young, I would look up from my book to see my mother, hands on hips, shouting my name. Inside, I felt like I’d been yanked from another world. I know I blinked at her, as if surprised to find myself lying on a couch in my living room instead of riding in a carriage in 19^th century New York City, or crossing the moors of England, or fighting a war in France.

Sometimes I feel a bit like Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife. With very little warning, he would disappear and travel through time. If you have not read this book, you must. I don’t say this too often (or maybe I do?) but seriously, it knocked my socks off. I read it several years ago and a single thought can place me back inside that novel today, feeling the cold Chicago air, or the warm sun on my shoulders in the meadow behind the house in Grand Rapids.

The book is highly intellectual—read with thinking cap on—but also very relational. There’s a good bit of cussing and the poor guy ends up naked every time he travels, but the story is riveting. Unforgettable. Stunning.

It’s a new year, and with it—God willing—I’ll write another book. When I write, there is less time to read, but when I read, there is more fodder for writing. So I’m looking for the next novel to read even as I plot my own next story. Suggestions welcome, though "my stack" beckons.

Do You Re-Read?

I find it difficult to read a novel more than once. Usually, it feels like working the same crossword puzzle a second time. The first time is magical and full of discovery, but after that, you know all the secrets, all the rabbit trails. Not much new to discover in your average novel the second time around.

But there are a few . . . stories that beckon me away from new reading.

Just this week, I picked up The Thirteenth Tale for the third time. I resisted the call for several weeks—the writing must come first, I’d say. It’s a haunting story told by a woman obsessed with “story” to a woman obsessed with books. I’m only on chapter two this time around, but instead of knowing what’s coming, I find myself anxious to enter the world I remember which doesn’t come into play for another thirty pages or so.  And I’ve already found new perspective on the characters.

One fascinating item about this book is the ambiguity of time and place. It seems like a gothic/romantic novel, but certain details suggest it could be modern. The story within the story takes place in a further distant past, which also could be gothic, or modern because the setting is pastoral. The author never tells the reader “when” the story takes place. This may sound like a definite mistake, but it works for this novel because the ambiguity serves as transport between my world and the world in the story.

And I want to go back . . .

What novels have you read more than once? Why did you? Click on “comment” below and let’s chat.

What Can a Character do to you?

Do you have a favorite character? Have you ever read a character you wished you could become? The first character that struck me like that was Sarah Crew in A Little Princess. I think I was 10. Her unique ability to escape her difficult life into a world of fantasy via storytelling helped almost every girl around her. She didn't let adversity change who she was. It’s a riches to rags to riches story. Who can resist the allure of Cinderella in any form? Frances Hodgson Burnett remained my favorite authoress for most of my childhood.

Then I discovered Josephine March in Little Women, created (of course!) by Louisa May Alcott. When I closed that book I swore I’d name my first child Josephine and call her Jo. Funny how time and husbands change those sorts of ideas . . . But Jo’s confidence and her triumphs made me think I could do anything. And she made me want to write. And she gave me the guts to cut my hair short too. 

Can a fictional character make us better people in the real world? Click on the comments below and tell me what you think . . . 

More character talk next time.

Do seasons matter?

Have you read a book set in a winter wonderland while you lie on the beach in August? Can you read a book about summer when you’re curled up by the fire in February?

I read Winter Garden in May this year. Incredible mother-daughter story. Powerful. I was so happy I read it near Mother’s Day, because that holiday makes me think of my mom so much and it felt so poignant. But much of the book occurred in winter. Dual storylines in freezing, difficult times laced with internal struggles. I know I would have enjoyed reading the book anytime of year, but the season I was living in, sweetened the mother-daughter theme in my mind.

I read The Help in summer. I think part of me actually sat in Aibileen’s kitchen, sweating in the late night heat with the sound of the typewriter click-clacking behind me. I tasted the lemonade and sweet tea served on porches and as I wished away our summer heat, I rejoiced when Skeeter’s father installed their first window A/C unit.

Have you ever enjoyed a Christmas story outside the months of November and December? I couldn’t bring myself to pick up such a book unless it’s cool enough outside to drink hot cider, and only before January first.

Tell me what you think: does it really matter when you read a book? Novels provide an escape from your real world. But tell me, how has your environment enhanced or detracted from the setting in a novel you’ve read lately?

(FYI: While I recommend the story, Winter Garden contains some foul language.)