Circle of Quiet, Trails of Solace
Title:A Circle of Quiet
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Memoir/ Spirituality
Length: 229 pages
A Circle of Quiet is powerful. So powerful it inspired me to write nearly 10,000 useable words, to writers you may note the awe I have when I say useable.
Some were used for the sequel to my novella, a novel that is supposed to come out in the fall of this year – fingers crossed. But most of the words were for a new book, stories about my trails in the woods that are itching to be told but I’ve not known how to tell them because it’s all still happening, my trails are still real.
What is most impressive to me about A Circle of Quiet is not how many beautifully quotable quotes there are, but how completely relevant L’Engle’s story is to me. So relevant, I didn’t noticed until 3/4 of the way through the book that it was published in 1972 and the things she writes about occurred in the early seventies if not the late sixties.
I was baffled to discover this. A Wrinkle in Time and the rest of her children’s books are as fresh to me as the Harry Potter series. I read them as I child without the impression that they were old. In my mind, L’Engle has been an author of the 80’s who would be around as long as C.S. Lewis once the years had passed. I did not realize that the books were much older than that and that the years had already passed. A Wrinkle in Time was first published in 1962.
How is this possible that every moment, every ache, every joy (aside from winning the Newberry of course, as I’ve won nothing) is one I feel in every fiber of my being as a thirty year old in 2014? When she was born in 1918. What struck me most is that A Circle of Quiet is timeless.
Madeleine L’Engle is timeless.
This is a must read for any mother, any writer or creative, any soul searching for God, any person trying to balance their introversion with their extroversion, and ultimately any person.
She published these from her journals, which she admits were written for publication, but still I am honored to have been allowed a peek into the window of her thoughts.
Unexpected Odes to Literature
Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy
Length: 534 pages
For me, what makes the writings of Cassandra Clare so captivating isn’t the fairy tale romance, the paranormal elements, or the bad ass fight sequences… at the heart of it all, it’s the way Clare manages to make a young adult fantasy saga an sequence of unexpected odes to her favorite pieces of literature.
“No man chooses evil because it is evil. He only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“Love is familiar. Love is a devil. There is no evil angel but Love.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost
“I love you as one loves certain dark things.” – Pablo Neruda, “Sonnet XVII”
“All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.” – William Butler Yeats, “Easter, 1916”
Whether the story was constructed around these quotes, or the quotes 
were slipped into the story, the two halves were beautifully married together. Just as Clare always manages to do.
If you recall my review of The Book of Secrets you should be well aware of how much I cherish this particular aspect of storytelling. I love peeping into the mind of the author and what they’ve read before – what work we may have both cherished. I love to see how others acknowledge how literature builds a soul. Even if that soul is an imagined character in another book.
A reviewer on Goodreads mentioned they thought it was silly that all these Shadowhunter kids were completely oblivious of what went on in the mundane world half the time – Jace completely misses references to Madonna or Dungeons & Dragons games – but are well versed in William Shakespeare and Dante.
As a classical book geek it makes perfect sense to me. I was raised on Charles Dickens and the Brontes, not the latest boy band or pop culture trends. Poetry is timeless. New Kids on the Block obviously not so much.
One doesn’t expect these odes and references in a paranormal teen romance. I suppose that’s what makes them so stunningly lovely.
City of Glass
It seems even though this is my second time reading this book (my second time through the series as I prep to read the final volume!), I didn’t write proper reviews for each one.
I addressed the series, made references to Cassandra Clare’s work in many of my reviews, but City of Glass never got a review all it’s own.
So here it goes:
Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult/ Teen/ Fantasy
Length: 541 pages
The book cover finally features a boy *with* his shirt on. However, the cover still annoys me. I suppose I’ll never get over how embarrassing they are. I’ve never preferred having actual people on the front covers of the books I read, unless of course they’re in some sort of Victorian garb. For some reason a person on the cover never truly embodies the mood of a story the way I want it to. I prefer buildings, scenery, landscapes, or the hint of a person.
For instance…
That’s a cover I don’t mind flashing the masses, a train full of people, other moms at a public park, or I don’t know – MY KID.
Who am I kidding? In the U.S. the cover up top is the only one that is going to move copies of the book. I’m an odd duck. I know that.
Regardless of all that – I still adore these books. Brain candy, teen flick, romance nonsense and all. I just love them.
I love the book references, the intelligent quotes, the very teen appropriate quips. I love that Jace (Jonathan) Wayland/Morgenstern/Herondale/whoever reminds me so very much of my own Jonathan at that age. Clare has cocky teenage boy dialog down to an art. Jace’s cockiness rings true and familiar, the knowledge that he is attractive and desired, edged with angst anyway.
I remember those conversations. I remember the beautiful, desired boy flirting with me – the short, somewhat tomboyish and frumpy nerd who was always a little out of place. Granted, I never got Luke & Leia -ed like Clary and Jace did. But I think what makes these books so marvelous is despite the fantasy, despite the action and apocalyptic level of drama, despite the paranormal parts that drip into every aspect of the story – there’s something familiar for everyone in these stories. Especially City of Glass, and the ever burning question so many romances have: If it’s not forbidden will he/she still want me?
This time around I re-read the first book, City of Bones, after seeing the movie. The library didn’t have the second book, City of Ashes, on hand so I just skipped it and went onto City of Glass. By doing this, I was brought to a whole new level of appreciation for the series, Cassandra Clare, and each book individually.
Even though I jumped in having skipped the second book – I wasn’t lost. Although the second book is pivotal to an epic saga of the Nephilim, I didn’t feel out of sorts by not having read it. Clare does such an excellent job of having each book stand on it’s own even though it’s merely a puzzle piece in a giant story. I love that.
I know it’s the thousandth time I’ve said this, and I shall say it a thousand times more – Well done, Cassandra Clare, Well done.
Do I feel bad about re-reading young adult titles over and over again and the age of thirty? No, not anymore.
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”- C.S. Lewis
Love Letter to Literature
Title:The Book of Secrets
Author:Elizabeth Joy Arnold
Publisher: Bantam Books
Genre: Fiction/ Literature/ Books About Books
Length: 450 pages
I checked this book out from the library, but this is not a library book. This is a book you need three copies of – a hardback first edition signed by the author, a copy for reading and scribbling notes in the margins, and a copy to loan to your friends. I’m devastated that I’ll be shoving it through a book drop later this afternoon, it will leave my hands and slide down a shoot to be re-cataloged and re-shelved. When all I really want to do is sleep with it under my pillow.
I was up all night reading. Not all night, but well passed my thirty year old motherhood appropriate bedtime.
Part One was titled Chronicles of Narnia, Part Two: Where the Wild Things Are, and so on – each section of the book titled and designed to reflect story that tied ever so gracefully into a famous book title. The whole book is not just a riveting story, it is a love letter to literature.
If you are a Kate Morton fan, the architecture of this book will be right up your alley. It’s beautifully done, marvelously written, and simultaneously raw and eloquent. It may even be better than anything Kate Morton wrote, and saying that feels like blasphemy because I adore her and own all her books.
There were so many gorgeous quotes I wanted to underline, and now I don’t know where they were in the book, because it was a library copy so I couldn’t. I should have jotted them down, but I was too eager to read what would come next. The whole reading experience was captivating and surreal.
“I thought it was a dream,” Thomas said. We were sitting in the library…
A Tea Shop Mystery
Title: Death by Darjeeling
Author: Laura Childs
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (Penguin)
Length: 242 pages
The best thing about cozy mysteries is generally not the mystery, but the cozy. The whole point of reading them is to sink luxuriously into a world of soothing smells and comforting sensations.
I find myself completely suckered by any paperback with the familiar palm labeled “Berkley Prime Crime Mystery,” knowing full well I’ll be in for a delightful dive into a two hundred page world. Usually part of fun serials, Berkley corners the market on the cozy mystery genre with this logo.
Laura Childs pulls the cozy serial off beautifully with her Indigo Tea Shop run by one Theodosia Browning. Such a delightful name! When I read or hear it I immediately think of Theodosia Burr Alston. Childs doesn’t stop there, though, the Indigo Tea Shop also features a dog named Earl Grey!
Tea preparation tips, recipes, and delightful garden descriptions will have you wishing you lived in South Carolina amidst a caddy historical society sampling tea blends.
For a more thorough review and a Darjeeling Cashew Cream Cheese recipe, click the photo I borrowed from the Kahakai Kitchen. It will take you to their blog.
The Keeping Quilt
Little girl got soap in her eye in the bath tub tonight. It was awful. There was banshee-like screaming, bright red faces from all involved, and a lot of tears. Her daddy, the man with the magic hands, was able to pat her back long enough to soothe her into a half slumber after we got the eye rinsed out and pajamas donned. Just as we headed out of the room, though, a little voice piped up from beyond the darkness, “But you didn’t read me my bedtime story.”
So snuggled under her own quilt, I whispered to her the story of Patricia Polacco’s family –
Title: The Keeping Quilt
Author: Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
The Keeping Quilt is a beautifully illustrated family history that spans six generations. From the first immigrants of a family coming to America, through the making of a family quilt from the few cherished possessions they have from the mother country, through weddings, births, and old age, The Keeping Quilt tells a story of many lives united by love and history.
This book doesn’t just belong in every child’s library, but every quilt lover’s library as well. As we were reading, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Rich Fabric edited by Melinda McGuire and all the beautiful family histories captured in that volume as well.
I’m so glad I stumbled across this book today at the bookstore, honored to have been given the opportunity to step into Polacco’s family for the evening, and amazed at how perfectly soothing it was for a child who was emotionally and physically exhausted after a battle with a bar of soap.
Jane Austen Themes Soothe My Heart
Title: Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart
Author: Beth Pattillo
Genre: Fiction/ Chick-Lit
Publisher: Guideposts
Length: 268 pages
This book is adorable. There’s a lot of reviews on Amazon regarding it that I don’t understand because it seems people went into it expecting far more quality literature references and less cheesy romance – but I specifically picked it up because my brain hurt and I wanted to not think. If you want to shut yourself off from life for two or three hours, this book is perfect.
Claire is invited to read her sister’s paper at a Austen fan club in Oxford. Once she gets there, however, she finds herself infatuated with a fellow seminar member like a silly school girl. Claire embraces a teen girl mentality for a brief few days away from home – appropriate for her character since she never really got to be a silly teen because her parents died in an accident and she had to raise her kid sister.
If you were a silly teen once, however, the idea that a grown woman would be so ridiculous is a little irritating. Of course, there’s plenty of Jane Austen interludes to distract you from that irritation, and Pattillo’s version of what First Impressions might have been is fun.
This is not the best Jane Austen spin off or tie in. Follies Past by far takes the cake on the genre. But it’s good fun, light-hearted, and makes for a great right before bed or bubble bath read.
Hello GGP and the Zombie Apocalypse
Title:The Dying of the Light: End
Author: Jason Kristopher
Publisher: Grey Gecko Press
Genre: Thriller
Length: 417 pages
Last year I worked the Half Price Books booth at Comicpalooza. It was amazing and fun and I met some of the best people in the world – geeks like me who had gathered from all over the world to bask in their geeky-ness.
I’m in a little bummed out that I am not there this year, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t be back in the future. What it does mean, however, is that I am spending my weekend re-creating at home what I am missing at the G.R. Brown Convention center right now.
Last year, I was so lucky to come across Grey Gecko Press, a local publishing company who had pulled out all the stops for their authors. The booth was gorgeous, had professional banners for all the authors, hardback and paperback books on display. It didn’t look indie at all. Penguin and Tor would have been impressed, I think.
Of course, I asked them to come be a part of Half Price Books events in the Humble area. My floor space is your floor space, I basically said, and I have not regretted it one bit.
It is because of them that I have had the pleasure of reading Spindown by George Wright Padgett, a book that I thought was pretty brilliant. So brilliant, I connected him with the artist of the art company I work with, Gershom Reese Wetzel, when he said he was ready to publish his own science fiction title. We got a review copy to Padgett, and the rest is history. Padgett was the perfect person to write an editorial review for us. It’s a fascinating sub-genre they share.
Now, finally, one year later, I’m digging my teeth into Jason Kristopher’s work – The Dying of the Light series.
I don’t generally read or watch a lot of zombie material. When everyone was on that craze, I was not. But I do love a good zombie story. Usually when in the mood I go on a Resident Evil binge. One of my all time favorite movies (top twenty anyway) is 28 Days Later, the first time I saw it I was impressed by the cinematography and the choice in music made me cry it was so lovely.
I chuckled and snickered all the way through reading Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and just recently I was introduced to the movie Warm Bodies and absolutely loved it.
So even though the zombie craze isn’t entirely my thing – I’m not ignorant of the genre and I do enjoy it. I existed in the house when my husband was watching The Walking Dead, he watched too many episodes without me to follow the whole show, but now reading The Dying of the Light I feel like I got the better end of the stick.
Kristopher’s work is both an easy breezy read as well as an involved and intricate apocalypse novel. Current events are tied into the possibilities – which is always the best way to build a dystopian or apocalyptic world, in my opinion. The characters are real, the main one appropriately both strong and sappy. (Without a little bit of nostalgia and romance, what in God’s name would anyone want to save?)
Of course, that’s always the best part of an end of the world story – it’s why millions have fallen in love with Doctor Who. Any fight to the death for a whole world must involve a story of humanity and what it means to be human. Jason Kristopher pulls this off well, without overwhelming the casual reader with too much intensity.
After reading several books lately that involve a lot of plodding and lengthy prologues (from biographies to novels), Jason Kristopher’s opening sentence “I didn’t see Rebecca die the second time” was just the clincher I needed to jump into a refreshingly fast paced story.
I’m looking forward to Interval, the next book in the series.
Also Known As The Sechrist Chronicles
Title: The Devenshire Chronicles: The Stones of Andarus
Author:Tom Sechrist
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
I’ve been reading this book for some time now – The Devenshire Chronicles by Tom Sechrist. Book One: The Stones of Andarus to be precise. I’ve been reading it 5 pages at a time or so for weeks.
Pick it up here and pick my way through some bits of story, pick it up there and hide away in another world from my own life. My own life hasn’t been going exactly as planned and sometimes I need a break from watching plans go sideways.
Every time I bury my head in his fiction, I dive in knowing a review awaits me at the other end and I’ve been trying to decide what to say about it – how to say what I’m thinking.
I’m thinking it would make the most fascinating meta-fiction television mini-series. One in which we are introduced to our characters and the story by Tom Sechrist himself. And during that introduction we flash back and forth between the story Sechrist is telling and the story he is living. Remember The Princess Bride?
Yes, like that, except Sechrist isn’t that kind of funny.
Instead, Sechrist writes a rich high fantasy tale somewhere between Tolkien and Rothfuss. He’s old timey language and lengthy descriptions. He’s lords and ladies, warriors and… vampires.
And in it all, there’s a note from the author at the end about important dates in his life. This note reminds you of what you already know when you’re reading about Daimion Devenshire’s adventures: The Devenshire Chronicles are Sechrist’s magnum opus. He has poured his heart and soul into every word… and just as every quest has many footsteps, the telling has as many words.
The Crows of Pearblossom
A Weekly Low Down on Kids Books
Title: The Crows of Pearblossom
Author: Aldous Huxley
Illustrator: Sophie Blackall
I first bought this picture book simply because I wanted to raise my child to be literary and it was written by ALdous Huxley. Naturally, a literary child should be raised on the works of Huxley, naturally.
The first time I read it to kiddo, I remember being a little creeped out. I’m not sure why. Maybe because I had mommy hormones and it took the mother crow at least 297 missing eggs before she got upset about her lost babies. Maybe because father crow didn’t swoop down and kill the rattlesnake right away. To be honest, I have no idea, but I do know my kid must have picked up on whatever I was feeling and furrowed her little brow.
Nevertheless, we read it all the time now. It makes its emergence in the spring and summer and gets tucked back into the shelf during the fall and winter unless we’re on a bird or snake kick. It’s not that the book itself is set in any particular season, the illustrations are just sort of sunny and Owl doesn’t wear shirts, so of course it must be somewhat warm out.
I adore Sophie Blackall. I know I say this about a lot of authors and artists and people and things in general – but there just is no limit to how much a person can love and adore things. That’s the marvelous thing about love and adoration, it is limitless and unending.
Obviously, her artwork is fantastic. In addition to that, I think her ‘about the illustrator’ blurb in the dust jacket of the picture book is too adorable:
Sophie Blackall is the illustrator of Ruby’s Wish, the Ivy & Bean series, and many other picture books. Her father once arrived at a party as Aldous Huxley was leaving. They may or may not have crossed paths in the vestibule. She lives with her delightful children, an ambivalent cat, and several presumptuous squirrels in Brookly, New York.
Can someone please write something equally adorable for my author blurbs? I never seem to know what to say for them. Me – who writes endlessly and speaks just as often – has nothing to say. Not in any concise and witty manner, anyway.
Back to Huxley, he apparently wrote The Crows of Pearblossom for his niece in 1944. It wasn’t published until 1967 with Barbara Cooney as illustrator.
That edition looked like this and is now out of print:
Which means, if you see it laying around somewhere in a clearance rack or heap bin – snatch it up! It should not be cast aside. It isn’t necessarily worth a whole lot, you can find copies on abebooks.com for $2 – $10, but out of print is out of print and you never know when you might be holding the last clean copy. I like Sophie Blackall’s illustrations better, but the original work should be salvaged.
Anakalian Whims 