This is too much for one post, I know!
I have tried to make this a summer of organizing our messy spaces (and have been moderately succesful), spending intentional time outdoors, reading good books, and trying not to panic about the imminent return to homeschooling. I’m so behind here on the blog, that it’s hard to sit down and sift through months of photos and make anything coherent happen here.
So, I’ll just talk about books:
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I’ll go ahead and admit that I did not thoroughly enjoy This is Happiness. I feel almost ashamed to admit it, as I know it is beloved to many. And because I recently mailed my sister four of what I believed to be very good books, and received a text weeks later along the lines of, “I couldn’t get into any of these” and took it a wee bit personally, I know that it’s possible that I will offend someone by admitting my general unenjoyment of This is Boring. Okay–I did enjoy some of the book, particularly the last quarter or so. I even connected deeply to certain bits. But overall, I just didn’t enjoy the reading of it, and might not have even finished it had my book club not chosen it a few weeks after I started reading it. I hope we can still be friends.
I reread Crossing to Safety having first read it in my mid-thirties or so. The funny thing is that I mostly forget the books I read, carrying with me only a general feeling of like or dislike. This one was certainly worth revisiting, though I couldn’t remember much of any of it when I picked it up this time. There’s something about middle age, and reading books from the perspective of looking back on my life, most likely more than halfway through: who I was, who I am now, who I want to be–and seeing all these things reflected in the characters of the books I read. And I realize this is a big part of why I read fiction, to see myself and my relationships reflected, the good and the bad. To feel connected to humanity in both ugly and beautiful ways. And then to decide what I want to cast off, and what I want to aspire to in my life and my relationships. I read because I want to not only relate, but to be better, and it’s a consolation to know that it’s a struggle to get there, not only for me, but for all of us.
North and South has been sitting in a stack waiting for me to get to it for a couple of years now, and I finally read it. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. It’s very, very good. I connected deeply with Margaret Hale and believe she is one of my favorite female characters. Here’s a quote (spoken by her brother, Frederick) that I particularly liked, ” Thinking has, many a time, made me sad, darling; but doing never did in all my life.” (I’m both a doer and an overthinker.) I also related to this passage referring to a time when Margaret had spent a day away from her home: “She had the comfort of…thinking her own thoughts while she rested, instead of anxiously watching another person to learn whether to be grave or gay.” This is actually something I’ve been trying to work on, to hold steady in myself and my feelings rather than swaying with the actions, moods, or feelings of those around me.
Finally, Stoner. Oh, my. I purchased this book used about a year ago simply because I liked the look of it. I have several books published by New York Review Books Classics and I appreciate them from an aesthetic standpoint, but have also loved all of those that I’ve read. Stoner left me speechless and in tears. I found it absolutely stunning. I suspect it’s a book that is either loved or hated. I had actually set it aside after a friend told me she was reading it, but not enjoying it. Then, a few weeks ago, another friend described it to me as “quietly devastating.” If you know me, you know I was all in at that point. What an impactful book. I absolutely loved it.
P.S. Somehow, I’ve managed to be adding a little here and a little there to my shop this summer. I hope to dye a small batch of large scarves in the coming weeks, but for now, there are a few in the shop as well as some beautiful smaller scarves. There’s also a limited set of organic cotton velvet and some goat’s milk soap!
P.P. S. The books I mailed to my sister were: A Tree Grow in Brooklyn, Gilead, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. After her rejection of these, I had the nerve to send her another book. This time I sent Rebecca. No word yet, but I’ll let you know if she gets around to giving it a try.
Hi Ginny,
I recommend “Julie” by Catherine Marshall. I just devoured it and now that I’m done I so miss the characters. Didn’t happen to me in a long time.
I love a good book post! I enjoyed This is Happiness, but I’m not sure I care to read his other works. Eliz. Gaskell is one of my favorites, especially North and South, but have you read Ruth??? That is my favorite now. I don’t know how I had missed it before, but it’s beautiful. I just finished The Count of Monte Christo which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I do love reading your blog, please would you tell me what the books in your second photograph are, they look like children’s books, perhaps library books.
Thank you for sharing your family’s life, it is very encouraging to see, especially here in England.
with many thanks for your beautiful posts, which I have been following for many years, Emilia
Hi Emilia! They are library books and I can’t remember what the two on the bottom of the stack are, but the top one is this one: https://amzn.to/4zkrPIl
I haven’t thought about Stoner in ages! My husband and I read it in college and LOVED it. Thank you for bringing back that memory!
I often wonder how much our affection for a book depends on circumstances surrounding our lives – the bandwidth we have to absorb story, the literal time we have for reading, the way we can either get sucked right in or have to work hard to come to a place where we feel “in”. I listened to This is Happiness and adored it. I wonder if having the author reading it made a difference. Friends who read it weren’t as enthusiastic as those who listened! Which is another interesting observation!
I think the way I feel about a book is definitely sometimes related to whatever I am currently experiencing in my own life. Sometimes I am shocked by how the books I choose will speak so strongly to something I am going through-having had no idea I would relate to them so much when I started!
I love that you’re still blogging, Ginny, and get so excited when I see a notification pop up in my email. It’s like catching up with an old friend. We have such similar taste in books so I’ve added Crossing to Safety to my tbr and have demoted This is Happiness, lol. I was already on the fence about it anyway. I’ve read North and South two or three times and adore it. Stoner has been sitting in a stack waiting patiently for me for a few years now. Soon, I hope. Sometimes you just need to be quietly devastated.
I recently read Piranesi and have been struggling ever since to get into anything else. It’s been quite awhile since I was left with such a strong book-hangover.
P.S. your photography is healing for me. Thank you. ❤️
Kelly, you were the one who so highly recommended North and South to me that I bought a copy! I think you should read Stoner next (since you already have it!) But Crossing to Safety is so, so good as well.
Lovely pictures all.
I like North and South too, 3 times read for that one, about once every 10 years, and Gilead twice. Quite enjoyed This Is Happiness, probably not going to be reread though.
If you haven’t already discovered them, J L Carr’s books and Kate O’Brien’s, especially The Land of Spices are good.
I haven’t read any Kate O’Brien, but I LOVED A Month in the Country! I read it with my book club. Because it is so short I was able to read it twice before we met to discuss it! The Land of Spices sounds very good. I’m adding it to my list!
Ah, Ginny, there’s so much to enjoy about this post, but I have to start with the books because you read one of my most favorite novels of all time! I LOVE Crossing to Safety. In fact, Wallace Stegner is my favorite author in general (All the Little Live Things is also extremely beautiful, but also painful to read) and Crossing to Safety is one I often think back to. It’s one of those novels that anchor themselves in my subconscious, so that I sometimes think of something as a memory until I realize it was not me who lived it, it was a character in a novel :).
I have not read Stoner yet, although it was a hit here about 10-15 years ago and everyone I know who read it, loved it. I’ve been holding off because I was afraid it’d be too sad. Then again, I’m out here recommending All the Little Live Things, so…
(Butcher’s Crossing is also a good John Williams book, albeit with a very different subject matter).
Wonderful pictures of your grandson’s baptism. Love the one in which Gabe is holding him. Also love how Mabel holds that cat, like she’s really hugging him/her. Very sweet.
Always enjoy seeing your updates, Ginny. Have a good new school year and a wonderful Fall!
Hi Bee!
Somehow, Stoner didn’t make me sad! It’s just very different than anything else I’ve read! I picked up a couple more Wallace Stegner’s at the used book shop yesterday. I’ve only read Crossing to Safety and Angle of Repose. They didn’t have All the Little Live Things, but I got Spectator Bird and his first novelette-blanking on the title! I just started The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow. Have you read it? A friend recommended it to me.
Oh, I loved Angle of Repose as well! I have yet to read Spectator Bird, but I’d like to. Let me/us know how it is!
I’m unfamiliar with The Dollmaker, but I just looked it up and it sounds like something I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
Hello from Western Europe. Appreciate your reasons for reading fiction. I’d like to know what you (and your christian commenters) might think of the following…
Have good friends here, particularly the mother and her second child now grown with babies of her own. The daughter explained this summer that her mom thinks fiction is a waste of a believer’s time. Only the bible and ‘christian’ books (biography of C. Spurgeon, teaching kids about God, etc.) are worthwhile reading during our short life span. What’s funny is that this mom’s daughter has always been a voracious reader and loves fiction! However, I think the mother would say weaknesses of A. are having an idealistic view of life and emotions that affect her too often unhealthily. I think the mom would attribute some of this to the daughter’s reading of fiction. (The daughter does read the bible plus the kinds of books her mom recommends.)
To be fair, the mother grew up in an aggressively atheistic family and became a believer in God while reading the bible from cover to cover in an effort to silence her witnessing christian friend. S. converted and threw away everything from her past (except her family): lying, worldly music and nightclubs, and fiction. This surely explains some of her thinking and feelings about reading.
What do you think about this subject? I’d love to hear some other people’s thoughts!
Hello dear, i am in Western Europe too (Dutch in Belgium) 😉
I find it rather heartbreaking what this mother claims. We are in this life to learn what it means to be a human. What it means to be on this journey. What it means to live in this shadowland. Yes, life on earth is beautiful and full of unexpected gifts, but also heartbreaking, frustrating and very rough.
Novels are stories about our fellow travelers. And they too are learning their life lessons all the time and they too are on a journey (even if they deny the afterlife). Novels help us to recognize all the different aspects of the journey we’re on (including the dangers!). We are not alone. Travelers have come before us, travelers will come after us. We need perspective and we need to felt understood and sometimes we also need a punch in the stomache. Novels can do that in ways that non-fiction can not. The Lord is unlimited in His ways to show us what we are doing on this journey and what we are traveling towards.
Well said, Elizabeth! I agree with you!
If you can find it do watch the BBC adaptation of North and South from the early 2000s. It is excellent. Enjoy your gentle postings. Thank you.
I’m captivated by your photography! It moves me deeply! I also respect how well you articulated your journey and your struggles with “better” and emotions. I think that I am able to relate to what you’re saying and I appreciate your willingness to share honestly. Thank you.
P.S. If you ever put your pottery vases on Etsy I will be your first customer 😘
Hi Ginny!
Life happens:)
I loved three of the books you sent to your sister, but have not read “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” That is now on my “to read” list.
These past few years, I have been going back and reading some of the books I loved as a high schooler or young adult. Seeing them through my older adult eyes has been fun and I am learning more about myself. I, too, do not remember a lot of what I read back then, just a general impression of the book. It has been fun to rediscover old friends.
Thanks so much for sharing. Your newsletter is a breath of fresh air anytime it hits my inbox.
Ginny, I loved all of the books you read this summer AND all the ones you sent to your sister! Lol! This is Happiness is one of my all-time favorite books. As is Stoner and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Rebecca is so atmospheric, but My Cousin Rachel is my favorite by DuMaurier.
Beautiful captures Ginny, I’m loving the mini vases & bouquets, those could be a series in and of themselves. 🩷
I am reading Seed to Dust by Marc Hamer. Very good read about life from the vantage point of nature.
Anything by Elizabeth Gaskell is wonderful; I think she is (apart from Pym) my favorite author. I was also attracted to the look of the “Stoner” book – but “devastating” is not something I can handle right now. You photos are so lovely – my favorite must be the lily of the valley…..or the array of velvet colors…or the pansies and columbine – apart, of course, from the lovely dancer – and the baptism! Beautiful!
I love Crossing to Safety, also did not love the Niall Williams book. I liked some of it, but it didn’t resonate with me the way it did with others. If you liked Stoner, his other books are so different and so amazing. Augustus and Butcher’s Crossing. I’m not much for westerns, but Butcher’s was just beautifully done. Loved it.