My Favorite Read in 2011 {Book Nook}

There was a time when I stopped reading. I became so involved in blogging and being a mom that I didn’t have time to read a whole book to myself. Sure, I read books constantly to the girls, but I wasn’t reading books for me. When I picked up a book and started to read again, I realized how much I missed reading. So 2011 became the year of the book club! At the beginning of last year, I joined an online book club through the SITS Girls.

Through this online book club, I read some amazing books, including The Bird Sisters, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, and Secret Daughter. One of the big advantages of joining this book club was being able to participate in the Twitter parties. Several times the author joined in our discussion of the book we had read. It was so fun to ask questions and get an answer from the author herself! The disadvantage of this type of discussion was commenting on these wonderful books in 140 characters at a time. Challenging, to say the least.

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Then, my neighbor asked me to join her book club. A night out with other women, in real life, to discuss books with as many words as I wanted? Absolutely!

And so I read even more. Being in a book club encouraged me to read books I never would have picked up on my own. This is one book that I might not have read, and I’m so glad I did.

Major Pettigrew's Last StandMajor Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Sometimes you love a book because of the relevance to your life. While it doesn’t seem like I would have much in common with a retired Major living in a quaint English village, amazingly, I did.

Major Pettigrew is obsessed about the heirloom gun set in his family. As I read about his obsession, I remembered my grandma. When I would visit my ninety-year old grandma in her apartment, she would go around the room and point to each piece of furniture. She would tell me the history of the piece and remind me that it should stay in the family after she was gone. Just like Grandma, Major Pettigrew comes back to the subject of his family guns time and time again, and how this set of guns should be owned by him after his  brother dies.

The death of the Major’s brother comes as a shock to him; just a few years earlier, he lost his wife. Surprisingly, it is a shopkeeper in town who becomes a comfort to Major Pettigrew. Mrs. Ali has also lost her spouse. Their unexpected relationship grows from a fondness for literature and their enjoyment in each other’s company.

Here enters more relevance to my life at the time that I read this book. This past summer, 18 months after my mother died, my father married again. Through the eyes of Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali, I was able to accept the idea of love after loss. The Major and Mrs. Ali’s new relationship doesn’t diminish the love they felt for their respective spouses. Major Pettigrew at one point even tells Mrs. Ali that he wishes he had known her husband. With grace, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand explores the idea of a second love in life. Quite different than a first love, as my own father would say, but also worth pursuing.

While I think I would have liked this book no matter when I read it, 2011 was the ideal year for me to read this enjoyable book.

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16 Replies to “My Favorite Read in 2011 {Book Nook}”

  1. Glad you have carved out more time to read. Good for you! I received some great new books for Christmas (plus purchased a couple myself) so now I need to carve out time every day to read more. Here's to lots of reading in 2012!

  2. I'm adding that to my reading list for sure! I feel like last year I really slacked off and didn't read as much as normal. That's sad because I used to be such an avid reader. I'd practically devour books. This year I've already joined a book club and I'm hoping to read at least a book a month, hopefully more.

  3. It's always so fascinating to meet people who love reading novels. I love reading but only nonfiction. I don't know why. I've never been able to get through a novel but I know they must be fantastic because so many people love them. It's just something about mentally knowing the story's not true that causes me to put it down and pick up a nonfiction. Maybe I'll make that a resolution for next year: read a novel.

    1. Fawn, you are just like my husband! He feels the same way about fiction. I have some great non-fiction books that I'm going to write about in the near future. I think you would enjoy them!

  4. I need to join a book club. Right now, it would have to be a club about kids and hidden toxins and biomedical adventures since that's all I read anymore. Sooooooo lame.

    Hope you guys had a happy new year!

    1. Ha…that's just where you are at this point in life!

      I just read "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett…it's not about kids and hidden toxins, but it is about a fictional biomedical adventure. I think you would like it.

  5. I COMPLETELY identify. I've finally found time to read again, and it's wonderful. And I have that very book in my Amazon shopping cart, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for the recommendations!

  6. I love that Ginny. You know years ago my Grandfather became involved with an old time friend. My Grandmother had only been gone for about a year. I was so resentful of this. It seems so silly. I don't know why it bothered me so. Today I have a new perspective on such things. I'm so glad that God has perfect timing in our lives.
    Thank you for sharing:)
    Blessings

  7. After living in England for a year and a half while working toward my MA in Early Childhood Studies, I think I'd especially love that book. I didn't read often enough when my kids were little, either. Now that they're grown, I love spending time each day reading. A book club is definitely a great idea for keeping reading a priority. Visiting from Blog Frog!

  8. I love reading and I understand how you can relate to either characters themselves or a situation in a story. I'm glad the book you read helped you come to terms with your dad's new marriage. There is no time frame and no one should judge another. A second love happens when it happens and will never diminish the first love. The first love will always remain in the heart.

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