What I Like About Books

Setting has always been a beloved feature of a book for me. My favorite books are ones where the setting almost becomes a character itself. A memoir I read years ago—Jill Ker Conway’s The Road from Coorain—has stayed with me largely because of the vivid descriptions of Australia, which was the author’s homeland in the 1930s through the 1950s. I’ve never been to Australia, but her memoir sure made me want to. I now have a goal to read a book set in each US state. It can be con

Any Nancy Drew fans here? I picked up The Clue of the Leaning Chimney at an antique store in Concord, MA a few months ago. It has a copyright date of 1949, which is fun because it is part of the original series. The first Nancy Drew book was published in 1930. The books were then edited and republished in 1959. I think most people around my age read the revised versions that were out in the 1960s and 1970s. I’m pretty sure that’s what my library carried at that time. Well, I

Have you considered becoming an advanced copy reader (ARC)? An ARC agrees to read a book they receive for free and then post a review if they choose to. Sometimes the books are made available directly by the author or publisher, but there are also companies that specialize in lining up ARCs for authors so they can get their book reviewed. The usual assignment for an ARC is to read the book and then post a review to a website. The review should be honest; no money should be re

Have you ever read an epistolary novel? Every once in a while, I will come across one. The key feature of the epistolary novel is that it uses materials like letters, diary entries, notes, or emails to share the story with readers. In a traditional epistolary, all or almost all of the novel is told through these forms of writing. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson is a quietly engaging epistolary. A friendship between a married farmer in England and a widowed museum curat

When I was a kid, my friend’s mother had a life-long pen pal. I desperately aspired to have a pen pal like this, a friendship that would last for years and exist primarily through letters. I joined a pen pal program that matched people of the same age from around the word who wanted to correspond through letters. I had a total of three pals. But each time was a disappointment as they would quickly lose interest. Being from such different backgrounds, we simply didn’t have eno

The BBC had a radio show this morning on Louisa May Alcott’s experience at The Fruitlands In Harvard, MA. Her father, Bronson Alcott, had set up a transcendentalist community there in the 1840s. His community failed, and people laughed at his plight. But to me he was anything but a failure. I so admire his attempts to live by his principles and to improve society, even at his own peril. This morning‘s radio show was called “Transcendental Wild Oats” and is worth a listen if y

What author’s homes do you have in your area? I love visiting historic homes, especially the former homes of authors. Just after the new year, I toured Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House in Concord MA. The built-in desk where she wrote Little Women  is still there. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson lived nearby. Their houses offer guided tours as well. Walden Pond is also in town and has a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin. There are other interesting sites to s

The Concord Quartet  by Samuel Schreiner Jr. is a compelling nonfiction book I read last year. It traces the friendships of four nineteenth-century men who lived in Concord, Massachusetts: Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott, and Hawthorne. They were writers, philosophers, and laborers, as needed. It’s a treat to learn about their day-to-day life, especially when the author weaves in letters and diary entries. They faced many of the same struggles we do today, such as the challenge of p