I've been reading a lot lately. The cord to our computer was frayed and so it's been out of commission for a couple of weeks. Sad that my computer has to break for me to read more.
I read a lot of different genres. Probably the only genre I really don't care for is horror writing because I have a very active imagination as it is and I don't need that stuff in my brain. Same reason I don't watch horror movies. Last week I read The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. She is an Australian author who has two other books I've read. Her novels are usually set around turn of the century with some deep seeded family secret that lives on to affect contemporary members of the family.
The Distant Hours jumps back and forth from present day to WWII England. Edie Burchill lives in London, working for a small publishing firm. She is thirty years old and has just broken up with her boyfriend of six years. Her relationship with her parents is strained and Edie has always felt she doesn't quite fit in with her family. When a lost letter arrives for her mother it sends her on a journey to discover the young woman her mother once was and the mystery surrounding the Blythe sisters who live in Milderhurst Castle. The Blythe sisters once took Edie's mother in as an evacuee from London's blitz but Edie's mother seems hesitant to speak of her time there and her friendship with the youngest Blythe sister, Juniper.
The story unwinds, slowly revealing the character's secrets and motives. I enjoyed this novel immensely. Kate Morton has a wonderful knack for description and transports you easily to another place and another time. I think of her three novels, this is my favorite by far. It reminded me of Rebecca, which I read in middle school and loved.
I also finished Divergent by Veronica Roth. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games, you may have no doubt heard of this book. Like THG, it is also set in a future America where a great war has left it's inhabitants in a decaying city (Chicago) with different factions co-existing with one another. There are five schools of thought and at the age of sixteen you must take an examination that suggests which lifestyle you will be most suited to living. If you choose a different faction than the one you've been raised in then you leave your family behind, never to associate with them again.
Beatrice Prior has been raised in a strict, household that, like all their neighbors, values selflessness and modesty above all else. When Beatrice receives the results for her examination she finds that she is in grave danger because of what she is. Having been deemed "divergent" she must strive to hide her test results while deciding if she will follow her heart or stay loyal to her family in a lifestyle that makes her miserable.
Although turned off by the initial premise of The Hunger Games, I eventually read and really liked that series. With Divergent I had no such conflict. The pace of the book is fast moving, the main character is very likeable, and there is some romance of the adolescent kind. No love triangle, which is kind of refreshing. I read this book in a day and a half...you can imagine how neglected my housework is. The second book in the series, Insurgent, is due out May 1st. I haven't bought a book in a while and I think I will buy this one since there are already 75 people on the wait list at the library.
I'll also give a shout out to a book I read at the beginning of the month. It was called A Heart Like His by Virginia Pearce. Virginia Pearce is President Hinckley's daughter, FYI. It's a short book and the main gist of the material is keeping your heart open to those around you as well as those who may need you that you would normally overlook. A lot of the time I have a tiny shriveled heart like The Grinch. I am suspicious of those around me and their motives. I'm not sure I've always been this way and it makes me sad to think that I have built walls around my heart to keep others out who might exploit or hurt me. I want to work harder to be more positive and see the goodness in others. Case in point....
When I first moved back to SLC after my five month hiatus from my marriage I was naturally hesitant of the kind of reception I would receive back in my old ward. I hadn't made any deep friendships to begin with and was afraid I would be judged for my leaving my husband as well as getting knocked up and moving back, talk about a double whammy! Shortly before I left, a family had moved into the ward. She was angelic, beautiful and had a deep faith that you can just feel. Her husband had proclaimed his undying love for her at the pulpit! At the pulpit I tell you! He was a successful producer for a local firm that does commercials and has branched out into movies. I remember the day I told the Primary President that I was leaving, this woman, who was second counselor in the Primary at the time had walked towards me with such concern in her eyes and asked if everything was okay. I remember bursting into tears and rushing out of the church house.
While I was away my husband had become good friends with her husband. When I came back, as I said I was afraid. I didn't want to go to church and have people looking at me, after all no one really knew me and it would make it that much easier to judge me. I was a coward and stayed home from church. I just couldn't do it. After my husband got home we were relaxing, watching t.v. A knock came at the door and there she was. A bright smile on her face and a bag of cookies in her hands. She told me she was so happy I was back, and that she looked forward to getting to know me better.
My reaction? Anger. Cynicism. I remember being fairly cool with her. Thanking her for the cookies before I closed the door behind her. I went into the other room and bawled. Bawled my eyes out. I was someone's project. And not just anyone's project, but this beautiful woman who seemed to have it all together. She pitied me, and nothing is worse than someone pitying you. Later I tried to work out why I had reacted in that way. Was my heart so hard that even someone being genuinely nice to me made me question their motives? I wasn't proud of the way I reacted. Who does that? "Here's some cookies...let's be friends...." "Thanks you jerk now get the heck out of my house!"
I have since apologized to her for being less than grateful that day. She shrugged it off as if it were nothing, as gracious as ever. After getting to know her better she truly is just a good person. She hadn't pitied me, she just wanted me to know she was there for me recognizing that things may have felt uncomfortable for me.
I had closed my heart to her that day. How often do I find myself closing myself off from others who want to get to know me, or to those who like me, needed a friend during a difficult time. People nine times out of ten will tell you they're fine if you asked them even if they're not. I believe that if we practice keeping our hearts open, with empathy and love and without judgement of those around us that we will have experiences that will blow the doors off of tiny shriveled hearts like mine. I'm still working on it. As much as my hermit side desires to just stay in my little world, not having to negotiate messy relationships with others I also know that we seek to be connected to others and we do it because we need them and they need us. Anyway, I'm sure most of you are not freaks and weirdos who want to spit in someone's face when they bring cookies to your door, but if you feel like you close yourself in sometimes and it bothers you then you should read this book. It can only open your eyes to those who may be hurting or who may need someone to talk to, and that above all else is why we are put together on this earth so that we can love and support one another.
I've went long again. Sorry. I can't help it. Pick these books up if you're sick of the daily grind.
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