Book Balm

I don't know how I've managed to read all the books I've read in my lifetime and never read Anna Quindlen! How is this possible? Well, thank goodness, I found her just when I needed her. (Isn't it amazing when that happens?)

It had been a rough couple of weeks for me. Work had been especially demanding, and I've had many things to deal with. I've been reading some books I've enjoyed, but I had not read anything that helped quiet my mind from all the turmoil going on around me. I had been feeling impatient, short-tempered, and agitated. I needed something, I just didn't know what. When I finished my last book, I couldn't find anything that seemed to fit my mood or one that would help me out of it.

A few things happened, within a couple of days, that led me down a literary path and brought me to the book I needed...

First, I saw a post from Erica Bauermeister (an author I enjoy) on Facebook about Anna Quindlen. It wasn't about any of Quindlen's books, it was actually about how they both live in the same area. I thought I remembered seeing Quindlen's name before (a quote of hers on Goodreads, perhaps?) and made a mental note to look her up when I had the chance.

Second, my daughter and son-in-law gave me a gift card to Barnes and Noble as a thank you, which was really sweet and unnecessary but really thoughtful of them. There isn't a store near us, but my daughter knows I order online. I hate Texas traffic, so I seldom make the drive to the nearest Barnes and Noble unless it's for something extra special.

Third, a student of mine needed the second book in a series I'd been trying to get her to read (The Ranger's Apprentice). She gobbled up the first one much faster than I thought she would (which made me SO proud). When she went to our school library to get the second book, it was already checked out to someone for the next two weeks. I just couldn't let her wait that long. As soon as school was over, I called around to find the second and third book. And, as I'm sure you guessed, only Barnes and Noble had what I needed. They pulled the two books and put them on hold for me to pick-up.

And, finally, when I arrived at Barnes and Noble, my plan had been to just run in and get the books at the service counter. I had a lot of work to do that evening and didn't have time to wander around a bookstore. When I walked in, though, the books beckoned to me and convinced me to look around just a bit. I'm sure some of them whispered, "You will have money left over on that gift card after the two books, don't you want to take me home?" I ignored the whispers of the full price books, as I usually do, and decided to just browse the bargain aisle.

And there she was.

She was lovely. Truly lovely. She was a hardback with a beautifully simplistic cover and a title that spoke to me: Still Life with Bread Crumbs. And I could just tell when I took her off the shelf and held her in my hand, this was the book my soul needed.

And I was right.

I have relaxed and relished every moment of Quindlen's novel. Her writing was balm to my tortured mind, and it helped heal a few bruises on my heart. She's a wonderful storyteller, very descriptive, with characters you really like that have real world problems. Within her story, she provides a great deal of wisdom about how to live life to the fullest and how to treasure moments that are gone too quickly. Just...lovely.

I'll leave you with 'the hook' from the inside cover:

"Still Life with Bread Crumbs begins with an imagined gunshot and ends with a new tin roof. Between the two is a wry and knowing portrait of Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose work made her an unlikely heroine for many women. Her career is now descendent, her bank balance shaky, and she has fled the city for the middle of nowhere. There she discovers, in a tree stand with a roofer named Jim Bates, that what she sees through a camera lens is not all there is to life."
 

Treasure

It's hard for me to explain how I love so many books in so many different ways, just like I love different people in different ways. It's all love, just not the same kind or the same amount or in the exact same way.
 
Now and then (and less often than you might imagine), I find a book I consider a treasure. It's one I know will stay with me and linger in my heart and mind for a very long time. I usually know it's unique before I finish the book. It's this wonderful feeling I get, like,...well,...like realizing you're having a perfect late-night conversation with someone that you wish would never end. Yes, I think that's a perfect comparison...
 
It isn't that a late-night conversation is about how to bring about world peace or debating the value of some crucial moment in history, although those are interesting topics to discuss. It isn't even about the words being just the right ones all the time, in perfect order, or placed in a clear and concise manner. No. It isn't about that at all...
 
It's about having a conversation that makes you want to lean in for more. It's where everything around you ceases to exist for a little while, and you become acutely aware of the cadence in the other person's voice, the nod of their head, the smile you share in agreement or when you both find something amusing. It's the companionship you feel when conversing and sharing a precious, quiet moment in time together,...just enjoying the pause from your normal, busy, everyday hustle and bustle in life.
 
When the conversation ends, you go back to your everyday life more aware of everything. You appreciate the world around you more because you took a break from it for just a little while. You tell yourself you'll remember to slow down, drink more of life in, and be kinder to yourself and to those around you. It makes you see things in a softer, yet brighter, light.
 
Yes, that's it. That's exactly what makes The School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Bauermeister, a novel to be treasured. It gives me that same feeling I get from having a good conversation that warms my heart and makes me smile again and again. It makes me like myself, and the world around me, a little more. What a lovely gift to give to a reader!

The story is built around Lillian, a fabulous cook and restaurateur, who pauses her life one Monday a month to teach a cooking class to eight students. The adult students are different ages and come from different backgrounds and lifestyles. Each character gives voice to the story, and you learn how they came to be there. The students learn much more from Lillian than cooking, they learn about each other and some precious truths about life.
 
I loved it.
 
I also consider this book a treasure for another reason. I found it myself. It wasn't recommended by anyone, I'd never heard of it before, and it was one I was attracted to on a random hunt through a bookstore. (I love when that happens!) I've found I have an odd instinct for choosing great random books. I do seek out new authors and debut novels on purpose because I like to give something new a chance. Goodness knows, I read and appreciate the well-established authors and the classics enough.
 
I liked Bauermeister's style so much that I ordered her other two novels. One is Joy for Beginners and the other is The Art of Mixing, which is the sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients. I don't believe it was originally written to have a sequel, but I'm glad she wrote one. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens to the characters in the next book.  I'll be sure to let you know if the sequel turns out to be a lovely late-night conversation, as well.

Happy reading! :)