An Open Book

I love to read, but my fading eyesight makes it a struggle now. I am nostalgic for the days when I didn’t have to worry about how lit the room was or where my glasses or magnifier were hiding.

I fondly remember when I read one lovely book after another with only a flashlight under my covers long after my mother called lights out. I was young then with fresh eyes and an insatiable appetite for the written word, beautiful storytelling, and memorable phrasing that created dramatic images.

I have also sadly noticed that I don’t remember the books I read now for as long as I did when I was young. I remember the classics, the historical fiction, and the romances of my youth like yesterday. Their plot and characters are still very much alive for me. I can even quote lines from my favorites. I fear I would have reread a book several times before being able to do so now.

However, I have recently read three great books that I want to recommend. Each has made a tremendous impact on me as they are all extremely informative, compelling and well written.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. Stockett’s unique story about the black maids who raised white children in the South depicts the horror of racism, the sadness of loss, the loneliness that outcasts feel, and the triumph of courage in the face of evil.

Stockett is a gifted storyteller who paints the perfect picture. Her palette ranges from atrocity to accomplishment and hardship to heroics. It is one of those magical books that draws you in, makes you weep, and lifts you up. I still have trouble believing that the book was rejected 60 times before some smart agent swept it up and gave it to the world. See the movie too, but not until you read the book. Then do both again for the details you may have missed the first time around.

The second book is A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. A quick read that you will not be able to put down, this coming of age book is peppered throughout with both comical and poignant stories. Recipes for delicious dishes that also served as a character in each story closed each chapter.

Wizenberg’s conversational style draws the reader in, and, despite her age, she has written a story to which even the oldest among us can relate. Daddy’s girls will empathize with her tragic loss, and we are all taken back to our first relationship, our first rejection and our first joy of true love found. Her descriptions of the food she prepares will compel you rush to the grocery store for the ingredients.

Her enjoyable book stems from her award winning food blog. It comes as no surprise that both have resulted in a second book deal. That is really good because I promise you will want a second helping of her prose.

The third book I have loved was written by a good friend, but I am not at all prejudiced. Lael Morgan’s sterling reputation as non-fiction writer (The Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush is just one of her many books.) and book publisher (Two Old Women) needs no help from me. Recently inducted into Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame for her work as reporter, author and historian, Lael weaves her tales of old in a way that begs reading and ensures learning.

Her latest book, Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder and the Wild Women of Montana’s Frontier is a rich and rousing chronicle of the old west from the “gold rush to the election of the first woman to the US Congress”.

A superb researcher and writer, Lael fills her book with extraordinary detail and lively language. She brings this era in America’s history to life, and she evokes sympathy even for her characters of ill-repute. Her wanton women are strong and courageous and the first in our history to fight for a woman’s equality and her right to work and succeed with or without a man by her side.

You will find Lael’s book about Montana’s frontier riveting. Be prepared for a wild ride.