One thing you may not know about Marissa and I: we love to read. LOVE it. From the time I was a little girl, I was constantly devouring books, and in Elementary school, I was the typical glasses-wearing, dorky type that always had her nose in a book. Though I was also an athlete (soccer!), I just never lost my love of reading. It is so easy for me to get lost in a story. Anyway… Marissa and I have shared this love for reading, and we are also now sharing our favorite books. I gave her my favorite book to read (which she loved), and then she just gave me this one. It was not what I was expecting, but it was still an amazing story. And yes, I cried on the last page (just finished it last night). I also loved seeing some of the sentences that Marissa had underlined… especially this one particular line:
“From childhood she’d sought inner calm, not outer beauty.”
I don’t know; it just stood out to me, so I thought I’d share it here. Question for all of you: do you have a favorite book that you can recommend to us? I need to choose a few books that I can bring while we’re traveling in Europe next month (after our Paris workshop). Any suggestions? Thanks! 🙂
PS – Peonies are also my absolute favorite flowers. Completely random fact. 🙂
You absolutely MUST read “The Pillars of the Earth” and “World without End” by Ken Follett. These were two books I couldn’t put down from beginning to end. Great reads, especially if you will be in Europe while reading them. They are both centered around building a cathedral.
Hi K! So happy that you loved it! I think she is one of the most intelligent writers I have ever come across. I just love how much you see the main character change. And, just another thing we share in common, Peonies are my fav too. So much so that my fav blog is http://www.peoniesandpolaroids.com/ simply because I love how much this talented lady photographs these gorgeous flowers. 🙂 M
Do you like funny, quirky books? One of my favorites, that I’ve read several times and listened to twice, is “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore. If you try it, hope you enjoy it! 😉
White Oleander is my ‘coming of age’ stories which are my favorite. It White Oleander has the most intense, beautiful, haunting language. Unforgettable. Here’s one of my favorite quotes…
‘I couldn’t tell my mother I’d outgrown my shoes again. I didn’t want to remind her that I was the reason she was trapped in electric bills and kid’s shoes grown too small, the reason she was clawing at the windows like Michael’s dying tomatoes. She was a beautiful woman dragging a crippled foot and I was that foot. I was bricks sewn into the hem of her clothes, I was a steel dress.’
Intense, I know but it is so beautiful. A really profound story.
wow… that’s some kinda typo situation! I deleted stuff and added so obviously, I didn’t do a very good job. Sorry!
I love, love, LOVE, Memoirs of a Geisha, You have to read it!
peonies are my favorite flowers too. I had them in my wedding bouquet in 2001 – they grow like weeds here in WI.