Any quilter worth her salt will covet the places she can find supplies that aren’t available anywhere else. Fiber On A Whim was one of those places. It closed its brick & mortar store yesterday, and Atlanta is sadder today for it. They will still have their online store, but the precious memories of working away in their wet studio downstairs cannot now be replicated.
I am an avid reader, and during the summer months, when I have no free time in the studio, I turn to books for comfort. As a child growing up, they were my means of escape, and I probably use them in the same way today. A library card is free, so as far as escapism goes, it is one of the best means available.
While I was sitting at the pool the other day, unable to read because the teenagers from the community had descended en masse and were blaring heavy metal music, I decided to start a list of my favorite books. I generally keep lists of books that other people find interesting as I’m always looking for a good read. I like to think that all books are magical and enchanting, but the sad truth is that there is a lot of bad fiction out there.
Although this list is numbered, I couldn’t begin to prioritize them. Many I’ve read in the last couple of years, but Tess has been on my list since childhood.
1 -The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
2 – Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
3 – The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audry Niffenegger
4 – Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
5 – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
6 – The Secret History by Donna Tartt
7 – Harry Potter (all of them) by J. K. Rowling
8 – The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
9 – The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
10 – The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
11 – The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
12 – The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
13 – Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
14 – Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
15 – Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
Although all of these will probably not suit everyone’s taste, they represent what I enjoy — and so this may find some other soul looking for a place to rest.
Oh — and by the way — I oftentimes read all of the books that an author has written — although you will find that no author made my list twice (with the exception of the Harry Potter & Lord of the Rings books which — as a series — must all be read). Some authors, in fact, seem to only have one good book in them — others are able to write well many times, but only once greatly.
I haven’t written in a while because I moved — from a small town to a large one. I am still walking through grocery stores with tears in my eyes while I attempt to comprehend all of the choices that I now have available to me. Having spent so many years in a small town, I am still geared to start my endeavors at Wal-Mart — I wonder if that will ever change. I have found that I literally have to leave stores because I am so overwhelmed with everything. I hate to think that they are mini panic attacks, but I’m sure that that is what my doctor would call them. I have a friend that has panic attacks and has to leave the house — I have them & have to return. All the years of being a stay-at-home mom have turned me into something of a hermit.
Which leads me to my other passion: books. I had promised myself that I would confine my blog to quilts, but really my blog is about me — and I am a bibliophile. I also find it difficult, at times, to find a really good read — and it occurred to me that there are others that may have the same issue — so I decided to share.
I just finished The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Stephen King remarks on the back cover that it is “one gorgeous read” — and that it is. It is certainly one of my favorite books. Too adult to share with my tween, but an excellent choice for adults.
This book captured my attention when I was wandering through a Books-A-Million several months ago. It starts in a Cemetery of Forgotten Books and revolves around someone who burns books and those who cherish them — which immediately captured my attention — since I cherish books. It was originally written in Spanish & was translated in ’04 — and although many places have the kinds of names that require your tongue to roll and flutter in your mouth (if you were to say them aloud) — the transition in language is otherwise flawless. The romanticism of the names, I think, added to the charm and magic of the story.
If you like this book, you should also try The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It has that same sense of intrigue and mystery without being a mystery novel. I also recommend The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards and The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
