Wednesday Book Talk -- The Lost for Words Bookshop

"A bookshop is not magic, 

but it can heal your heart."

The Lost for Words Bookshop

When I see a book about books, bookshops, libraries or people who read books, it is a safe bet, I will be picking it up, (quoting my grandson) "because it is my favorite".  Perhaps I am drawn to these books because I understand the healing power of books and rooms filled with books.  If I begin to feel the world tumbling down, and that "half-full glass" of mine springs a leak,  I am most at home among books.  I can walk between the stacks of a library or bookshop, touch the bindings, breathe in aroma of paper and glue, and absolutely know, without a doubt, I am in the company of good friends.  There is someone somewhere within all those pages who can talk me off the cliff and ease whatever is worrying me.     

Sometimes... it is just the perfect place to hide.

The Lost for Words Bookshop is more about this refuge and the comfort we bibliophiles find within books and in those rooms filled with books, than books.   

Loveday is hurting.  She is wounded by the events of a childhood ended far too early.   Seeking shelter, she finds employment where she is most comfortable, a bookshop... a used-book bookshop owned by the most charming Archie  (oh, how I fell head over heels for this man).  Loveday is not a people person, and  enjoys the solitude she finds sitting at a hidden counter preparing newly acquired books for shelving, leaving the owner to most often handle the customers.

Three separate deliveries of books mysteriously appear, threatening to bring Loveday's past crashing into the present.    This collision may be what she needs to reconcile with her past and begin healing, but first she must discover if these books are a coincidence, or does someone know about her past and want to do harm.  

This one started a little slow.  It took a chapter or two to engage with Loveday, but I soon became very protective of her character.   There is mystery with a little bit of romance, and a lot of feel good.   The Lost for Words Bookshop is a nicely told tale with equally good character development.  If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (I loved it) or you know the healing power a room full of books can offer, The Lost For Words Bookshop may be your next perfect read!

Have you read this one?  
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts
and what you are reading.


*****

The Perfect Pairing

Archie is by far my favorite character in The Lost for Words Bookshop.  Oh how we all need an Archie in our life.   He would often treat Loveday with a hot chocolate and nibble from the cafe next door.   So to honor Archie, and to pair with The Lost for Words Bookshop I am offering up banana bread this morning.

Enjoy!

I will be sharing the recipe later this week!

Happy Reading Friends!

A Few Technical Problems

I signed on tonight to begin writing my post for Wednesday.   While checking around,  I noticed a message saying I had 14 comments awaiting my moderation.  In the past I have been notified of these by email.  I have received nothing.   Please be assured I love hearing from you and am not ignoring your comments.   These only showed up tonight.  I will be honest... I have checked and thought I stayed away too long.  I was okay with that.  

Now here is my second problem.  I have spent the last hour trying to reply to each individual comment.  Blogger will not let me.  Again, your comments are so appreciated and I do not take them for granted. 

Perhaps this is only a glitch tonight.  We will see.

Again, I love hearing from you and will continue to try to respond.  

Hugs! 

Wednesday Book Thoughts .... Why We Do the Things We Do

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances;

if there is any reaction, both are transformed."

C.G. Jung

(If you are finding this duplicated on your feed, I'm sorry.  There was a glitch!)

I discovered Anne Bogel around the first of the year.  Okay, this is not exactly true.  I discovered her blog, "The Modern Mrs. Darcy" and her podcast "What Should I Read Next" awhile back.  I only started faithfully following and listening around the first of the year.  I am embarrassed to admit I resisted enjoying Anne's writing and reading thoughts out of, perhaps..... envy?  She is doing what I have dreamed of for so long, and she does it really really well.   Her podcast is one source and cause of my TBR list being so long and growing.

When I discovered she had a book, Reading People, published last year, it immediately was placed on my summer reading list.   Seriously a book titled Reading People.  This was a book made for me.... a book about people who read.

Yep, here I am red-faced once again.  It only took a quick Goggle to find out Reading People is not about lovers of a good read, but about "seeing the world through the lens of personality" (it says that on the cover)... reading (a verb not an adjective) people.  It may have dropped a book or two down my list, but I was still intrigued.

Long ago in a faraway land and in another life, I administered personality test for a bank.   Part of the training to prepare for this project was to actually take the test.  I remember being told, along with my results,  I was perfect because I was a planner,  a people pleaser, and, this last description will be  branded in my brain forever,  pretty dull.

Today, this would not be much of a surprise, nor would it bother me so much, though being told you are dull is still a bit hurtful.    As a 26 year old.... I was devastated!

I spent years working to prove my results were manipulated... just plain wrong!  I worked tirelessly to overcome being shy and be the life of the party.  When you have to work at it, it is not always pretty.   I am here now, older and wiser, to tell you it was exhausting.  Oh, had I only had Reading People as a reference.

Not only does Ms. Bogel share her love of reading by offering book suggestions on her blog and podcast; she has given us an enlightening guide to explore why we are who we are and how we relate to those around us.  She shares her own stories, her curiosity, knowledge, and research in giving the reader the resources to discover the potential in not only ourselves, but those around us.  I felt like I was having a comfortable and fun discussion with a good friend.  Oh, there is plenty of literary comparisons for the bibliophile.  Yes, the books we love, the movies we watch, the characters we identify with may be a result of our personality.  Who knew?

If you have ever wondered why you couldn't understand a friends actions... plans... why you hear one thing and your spouse hears something totally different, this may be a book for you.  I loved it!   

Have you read this one?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

And let me know what you are reading!

Happy Reading Friends! 

        

Wednesday Book Thoughts -- A Night Circus

"The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers.  It is simply there, when yesterday it was not."

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

I wish I could tell you how many times I have picked up this book and placed it back on the table or shelf in various bookstores.... my mistake!  

Published in 2011, I may be telling you something you already know, Erin Morganstern's The Night Circus is a treat for the senses.  I found it a bit slow in the beginning, but soon realized I was completely immersed and pleasantly drowning.   It is a fantastical tale of a mysterious circus, and those who are manipulated within it's grounds. 

 Is it slight of hand... smoke and mirrors... or is it truly magic?     

Who is the magician and who is the puppeteer?

This breathtaking fantastical tale has something for everyone.... mystery, manipulation, betrayal, murder and romance.  Beautifully written, with well-developed characters.  

(There are no clowns in this one.)

 "You will be fine", the fortune-teller says. 

"There may be decisions to make, and surprises in store.  Life takes us to unexpected places sometimes.  The future is never set in stone, remember that."

This may be one of my favorite reads this summer!

To compliment you reading enjoyment might I suggest a rich dark red with a sliver 

(or two... you're not going to want to put this one down) of nice chocolate.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Happy Reading my friends!