One of my favorite parts of living in a city that has very defined seasons is the natural division of life into phases. Summer days filled with running and biking along the lakeshore give way to fall days spent in a pub with a crisp beer and a mass of college sweatshirts, which gives way to the cozy days of winter – when staying home becomes a necessity and a comfort. While I’m usually found plowing through my Netflix queue when the temperatures dip below zero, this winter I got really into reading. Once one ended I got right on its replacement, and couldn’t wait to get home from work to continue on each night. Here are a few of my favorites from this winter’s reading:
1) All the Light We Cannot See –
This book took a good while to get going, but once I got about 100 pages in, I was hooked. The author’s ability to build imagery is amazing – I caught myself closing my eyes and imagining myself in France more than once. I’m a sucker for a good WWII novel that sees things from a slightly different perspective (The Book Thief) so I loved getting to know the world of Werner, the young German anti-hero. Definitely recommend getting through the first 100 pages of this one – it tells an important story in a lovely way, and ties an ugly and violent era into a context that all people can relate to.
“All the next day the pleasure of his success lingers in Werner’s blood, the memory of how it seemed almost holy to him to walk beside big Volkheimer back to the castle, down through the frozen trees, past the rooms of sleeping boys ranked like gold bars in strongrooms – Werner felt an almost fatherly protectiveness for the others as he undressed beside his bunk, as lumbering Volkheimer continued on toward the dormitories of the upperclassmen, an ogre among angels, a keeper crossing a field of gravestones at night.”
2) Wild –
A little behind on this one, but wow is this book amazing! Cheryl has such an amazing voice and I kept thinking how all the bad things that happened to her were made somewhat worthwhile in that they allowed her to write this incredible story. The book is an interesting mix of confessional memoir and adventure tale, and both parts matured and kept me entertained as the book progressed. I highlighted multiple passages – wise insights that Cheryl had into life as a result of this experience. Like the quote “Finishing a good book is like losing a good friend” says, I miss Cheryl.
“Each night the black sky and the bright stars were my stunning companions; occasionally I’d see their beauty and solemnity so plainly that I’d realize in a piercing way that my mother was right. That someday I would be grateful and that in fact I was grateful now, that I felt something growing in me that was strong and real.”
3) Story of a Soul
I had heard of this book but hadn’t thought to pick it up until a friend recommended it for a good Lent read. I can honestly say it is like nothing I have ever read before, and I am usually of the belief that most of what we say, read and write is recycled content. To back up, it is the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), as she recorded it shortly before her early death. Although St. Therese was a nun living in the 19th century, her story is one that draws you in regardless of era or background. St. Therese’s contemplations on her life invoke the mysteriousness of faith without getting lost in mysticism, and her purity provides a graceful perspective on many of life’s common challenges.
“To Him alone could I open my heart; all conversation with creatures, even on holy subjects, wearied me. It is true that in these periods of loneliness I sometimes felt sad, and I used often to console myself by repeating this line of a beautiful poem Papa had taught me: “Time is thy barque, and not thy dwelling-place.”
Happy Reading!
The Windy Way 