Mia The Reader

Book Messes and Real Life

Posted on May 20, 2013

For some reason, book messes don’t bother me as much as other kinds of messes…

But life has certainly been messy around my place lately. My progress on the books I’ve been reading lately has been slow. One of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp, often writes, “Life is not an emergency.” As much as I appreciate and need that perspective, sometimes, life does feel urgent. Sometimes your whole family gets a stomach bug; or you really do have to get those errands done before two birthdays and two anniversaries occur in one week; or your husband has to travel for work and it’s all on you, mama; or your first nephew arrives and (happily) other things get put on hold for a few days.

That’s been the month of May for us, so the book messes are some of the nicest messes that have been going on around here. I’ll spare you photos of the other ones.

Even in the frantic days, however, I have to read something. A lot of times I find I turn to my old favorites; they’re kind of like comfort food for a bookworm. When I’m having a hard time on the family and home front, reading the later books in the Anne of Green Gables series cheers me up. (On a side note, if you’re one of those people who says, “Oh, I read Anne of Green Gables but I didn’t know it was a series,” I am jealous of you because there are EIGHT books in that series and they are wonderful. I have read them to mental shreds. But I still love them). If I can’t seem to think anything but negative thoughts, I re-read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp or I Capture the Castle (because it’s just fun and strangely uplifting) or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. When I’m sick of life in the fast lane, I read Austen or Gaskell (usually Wives and Daughters). And if I feel like my brain is mired in the mundane, the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis or some other fantasy fiction is just what I need.

Those are just a few of my comfort books that come to mind. I have to mention the Bible because I’m always reading that, and it is comfort and beyond. What about you? Do you have books you turn to when your mind is troubled? I’d love to hear about them.

Reading, Reviews

Don’t Let The Dress Impress

Posted on May 14, 2013

I’ve been in a bit of a book slump lately. It’s my own fault, because what can you expect when you pick up book after book with a cover featuring a woman in an elaborate, flowing, and frilly dress. Seriously, what was I thinking?

Here are some book busts for you:

I don’t have much to say about any of these books except you really shouldn’t bother with them. I couldn’t make it past the first few chapters of The Typewriter Girl. It was boring. That’s all. I blame Goodreads for putting these books on my recommended reading list. =)

But I did enjoy The Dressmaker. It’s a light read, but it includes some intriguing history around The Titanic and the political aftermath. The Dressmaker made me curious about what happened after the catastrophe. Most of the characters are well done and the plot moves along at a nice pace. The whole “independent woman” theme can get boring (how many times can readers enjoy a book about a woman going from nothing to success?), but the integrity of Tess, the main character, and the contrasts between characters throughout the book make it more than just entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised to find it thought provoking. Weeks after reading it, I think of it as a delightful read. I appreciate how clean it was, too. If you’re drawn to books with beautiful, old fashioned dresses on them like I have been lately, pick this one over all others.

I’ve heard good things about The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani, but look at the cover:

The Shoemaker's Wife

No, I can’t bring myself to pick that one up right now. Maybe someday.

Right now, I’m enjoying The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. How is it that I have never read this book? It’s wonderful.

Reading, Reviews

The Plum Tree vs. Those Who Save Us

Posted on May 3, 2013

In the past few months, I’ve read several novels set in Europe during World War II. The two that stick in my mind the most are Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blume and The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman. The plot lines of these books are fairly similar, and both books have forever changed how I think about Germany during World War II. But the books are actually very different. I am glad that one is forever ingrained in my memory and I wish I could forget the other.

Both of these books are coming of age stories. The main character of each book is a German, teenage girl who is in love with a Jewish man. In The Plum Tree, Christine is smitten with her boss’s son Isaac. Anna, in Those Who Save Us, falls in love with a Jewish doctor. Both girls vow in their hearts to never love another, and both women suffer for their decision. I appreciated how both books give readers an idea of what it was like to be a German citizen during the Third Reich’s reign. Though The Plum Tree gave a broader picture of life in war torn Germany, both authors used their novels to put readers in the shoes of those people who were innocent of war crimes but still considered the enemy. Through reading these books, I set aside some preconceived ideas about Germans in this time period that I didn’t realize I had allowed to form in my head.

But that’s where the similarities end. The narrative structure of Those Who Save Us didn’t appeal to me much. The structure is popular right now in historical literature and hinges on a character in the present day unearthing the past. The very popular book Sarah’s Key is written in that way. I didn’t think it worked well in Those Who Save Us. Possibly because neither Anna nor her daughter are very personable characters from the first time we meet them, and they don’t improve much upon further acquaintance. They can’t seem to overcome their hearts’ losses. Anna, especially, lets her circumstances consume her. This book is grim, cover to cover. It is ultimately a story of a woman surviving and keeping her daughter safe at great cost to her very soul. I hope I’m not judging Anna’s character too harshly. Most of the time I was reading, I was upset with her passiveness. Another reason I didn’t enjoy this book was the many gruesome details. You’re probably thinking, “Hellooo, it’s a war narrative for grownups!” And I get that. But if you choose books based one how “clean” they are (which I do take into consideration), you probably will not like this one. I’ll admit to skipping over the scenes between two of the main characters after about a third of the book. I understand the author wanted her readers to fully grasp the horror of Anna’s war years, but the details were too much for me. I finished the book because I felt it had some important themes in it that most Americans never consider. And I know this is an area of personal preference–many people like this book, after all–but consider yourself warned. In the end, I was grateful to this book for its perspective, but I wished there was another way to achieve it.

Then I read The Plum Tree. Oh, how I wish I had read this one first! I think this book is magnificent. There was no disjointed feel to the narration; I was completely enthralled. When I put the book down, I found myself listening for bombers. The plot was fast paced but the descriptions of the setting were still detailed and beautiful. I loved Christine and wanted her story to end well. Her merit is not her willingness to suffer in order to survive, but her spirited desire to endure and thrive. Yes, she is changed by the war, but she becomes somebody I would want to know. I gained perspective not only on life for a German woman in WWII, but on what life became for a family and a community. Though sometimes heart wrenching, this book was inspiring. At the end of Those Who Save Us, I was sad for the characters. When I finished The Plum Tree, I was both sad and glad for Christine and her family.

Holocaust era stories are haunting and I sometimes wonder why I and so many others are drawn to them. It must be because we desire to understand how this atrocity happened and we hope to see good and some kind of triumph come out of even what could be the world’s largest tragedy. At least that’s my philosophy. What’s your philosophy on Holocaust/WWII literature? Do you have a favorite book set in that time period? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Reading

The House That Books Build

Posted on May 3, 2013

As this is the inaugural post of the Mia the Reader blog, I should probably start by saying:

Hi! I’m Alana — mom of little ones, reader of books, scribbler of words.

No, my name’s not Mia. But that’s all explained on the About page.

Did I mention I like books? I really love books. Sometimes I feel guilty when I consider how much time I’ve spent reading over the course of my life. If I had spent half that time, say, practicing the violin, I would be a seriously accomplished violinist by now. But most of the time, I simply accept my love of the written word as who I am.

However, I am becoming more and more convinced that merely reading by myself is throwing away one of the greatest gifts books can give: a house. Yes, a house. If you’ve ever walked into a library or bookstore, you’ve read signs that say, “Reading takes you to far off places” or “A Book is a Door,” or something like that. And for most of my reading life, I’ve been content to go to those places and open those doors by myself. But increasingly over the last few years, I’ve realized that reading by myself is not the best part of books. Books bring us all into a common house, where readers can enter rooms together and experience words that make us think about things and talk about things we otherwise wouldn’t consider. In that house of thought, readers can open doors to rooms of thought about so much, from how German citizens were affected by World War II, to what it’s really like to give a baby up for adoption, to why lavender is kind of lame color for guys to wear. Or whatever. And there are these crazy, psychedelic colored rooms where we can ask questions like, “what would you do if you fell into a time warp and ended up living with Incas?”

Sure, any of those rooms are pretty fun to be in by myself. But I find myself thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few visitors? To talk about these experiences that happen on paper but seem almost real sometimes? Or that were real for somebody?”

So if you love reading and you find yourself having this conversation:

Friend: “How do you find time to read?”

You: “How do I find time to do anything else?”

Well then, I hope you will get something out of the thoughts and book reviews of this bookworm mom. And share some thoughts of your own!

And of course, I’ll probably share some thoughts on this exquisitely beautiful and messy life of mothering that actually does take precedent over reading in my world. Maybe once in a while those thoughts will feed your mind (and maybe even soul?) in some way, too.

Thanks for visiting with me in the house that books build.