Editor’s comments: It’s no secret to readers that I enjoy Erik Larson’s work. His unique blend of great research and near-fictional personalities creates a look at one year in England’s history while under siege from the German Luftwaffe. Actual facts from 45,000 civilian deaths (5,500 children) during the blitz year are embroidered not just by Churchill’s fame but also his and his eccentric family’s peccadillos.
We hear voices in solitude
we never hear in the hurry and turmoil of life;
we receive counsels and comforts
we get under no other condition.
- Amelia E. Barr
Editor's note: This is an airy book of fiction about a bookstore on a barge on the Seine in Paris whose owner sets sail one day after 20 years of habits borne of a lost love. It is recreational reading to be sure with very lively, if somewhat far-fetched characters but by the end you realize it has a wonderful point to it all. That point is expressed in the favorite excerpt below which appears about mid-book.
Favorite Excerpt: "Habit is a vain and treacherous goddess. She lets nothing disrupt her rule. She smothers one desire after another; the desire to travel, the desire for a better job or a new love. She stops us from loving as we would like, because habit prevents us from asking ourselves whether we continue to enjoy doing what we do".
Book of the Month: “A Gentleman in Moscow”, by Amor Towles
Editor’s note: This historic fiction is beautifully written. Towles adds well-researched context along with poignant social commentary to make it the best book I’ve read in many years. I’m planning to re-read it so that I might pick up more of the type of excerpts you will see below. I noted at least a half dozen worth remembering on my first read.
