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I‘m glad I finally got around to reading Gilead. The story was different but the writing and the pace reminded me a lot of a favorite of mine- Crossing to Safety.

Making soup and listening to this audiobook for #bodydouble #cozyreads Readathons. @PuddleJumper

I‘ve been somewhat disillusioned as my life has run its course. It is the way of things, I suppose. Bad things happen, and we lose our way. But this book feels the way church used to feel for me. Like I‘m singing along to a favorite worship song, eyes closed, surrounded by a community in which I belong. Lights low, emotions high. It feels like coming home. It‘s a small glimpse of eternity, a little embrace of heaven. My heart echoes with it.

There‘s not much going on in Gilead, Iowa, which leaves lots of time for reflection. Reverend Ames does just that, writing letters to his young son. The journal entries reveal his family history and current tensions with his visiting godchild who shares his name. Conflicts between father and son span generations here, but humans have a holy power that appears in the act of forgiveness—a miracle that turns life‘s doubters into believers.

This was a beautiful read. I was very moved. The protagonist and narrator reminded me a great deal of my grandfather, so I felt particularly drawn to this. It's the kind of book I wish I could discuss with him.

“The sun was shining as well as it could onto that shadowy river, a good part of the shine being caught in the trees. And the cicadas were chanting, and the willows were straggling their tresses in the water, and the cottonwood and the ash were making that late summer hush, that susurrus.”

I knew I was going to love Robinson‘s writing, which is why I‘ve been hoarding this series on my shelves. It‘s mainly interior reflective monologue. 💙

That sound is me squealing inside because I‘m going to spend the rest of the afternoon ignoring everything else I could be doing. 😊

My favorite of the 52 I‘ve read. Lots already on my tbr, some I have never heard of. (Weirdly? I have read 52 books so far this year.) Lists are so fun!

Starting this tonight! Housekeeping, also by Marilynne Robinson, is one of my favorites. It was the first book I finished this year, and still the best fiction book I have read so far this year. So I'm hoping I will enjoy this as well!

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

1) Tana French, Louise Penny, Ottessa Moshfegh, Mona Awad, Kevin Wilson.
2) I am awful at picking favorites. I'll go with the tagged (genre: literary fiction), but I'm not sure it's my favorite-favorite.
3) Beverly Cleary.

Library book sale haul.

Unpopular opinion incoming: Reader, I hated it. 2 stars because it‘s objectively well written but this was an absolute snooze of a read for me. Let‘s chalk it up to a book-reader mismatch. Live, laugh, love fellow readers.

Enjoyable book that shared the life reflection of an old pastor to his young son. A friend recommended it to me and I enjoyed reading it. It was a beautiful slow moving thoughtful story.

A beautiful quiet meditative read. I thought it lost my attention a few times but overall I think this is a book I will reread to fully sit in the world that the author weaves.

#ManicMonday #LetterG

📖 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

✍️ Diana Gabaldon, John Green, Neil Gaiman

🎥 Goonies, Gladiator

📺 Game of Thrones, Good Omens

🎤 Gorillaz, Grateful Dead, Green Day, Guns ‘n Roses

🎵 Georgia (Vance Joy), Ghost of You (My Chemical Romance), Glycerine (Bush), Goodnight Rose (Ryan Adams), Golden (Harry Styles), Golden Years (David Bowie), Good Riddance (Green Day), Gunslinger (Avenged Sevenfold), Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)

A book about an aging Iowan minister writing a letter to his young son doesn't sound like it would be good. But it is. It's really, really good. ❤️
#LetterG #AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

So I read Gilead finally. I thought it was mostly really good. Very warm and humane. Lots of reflections on life and faith and such. Very poignant as well. Kinda lost steam in the 2nd half though I thought. Still, I liked it pretty well. Give it a B+. For my full review, see here:

https://youtu.be/mOQzHaZWa14

A gentle, meditative read. Many reminders to notice & be thankful for all the beauty in the world. Just the ticket 🌅🌿🙏

✨ I have several! One is to finish books that I‘ve started reading previously.
✨ ACTIVE
✨ Gilead is one of those languishing books. It‘s very meandering! That makes it perfect to dip in and out of while I wait for holds.
#ThoughtfulThursday

Gilead chronicles the thoughts of the fictional Reverend John Ames through letters to his son. Now at the end of his life and hoping to leave behind something meaningful, Ames reflects on the clashing ideals bestowed in him by his father, grandfather, and his wiley namesake, the prodigal son John Ames Boughton. This is a story that considers religion and atheism, war and peace, principle and forgiveness, and creates a town where all bear witness.

Really enjoyed it!

Beautiful, meditative read. An elderly pastor, dying in the small town of Gilead, Iowa, 1956, begins to write letters to his 7-year old son, who he hopes someday will read them. The letters discuss his background and beliefs, the turbulent history of his preacher grandfather, and his doubts about a troubled neighbor man who moves back to town. Great theme: appreciate existence in all forms, for existence, in itself, is a sheer wonder.

Just a beautiful book. Through an elderly preacher‘s letter to his son we observe a thoughtful contemplation of the breadth of the human experience - loneliness, faith, joy, heartbreak, awe, anger, helplessness, love. A rich and rewarding read.

Funnier then I expected. The musings of an old preacher. This feels a bit like The Alchemist, one of those books that can feel deep if you read it early in your life. I am too bitter, or jaded, and much to atheist for it to impact me in that sort of way. The writing is good, though the meandering of thought the storyline went through wasn't for me.
Sidenote when the character Glory came up all I could think of was the demon from Buffy 😆

"I'm a traditionalist"

So.. jokes about drunk housewives secretly drinking? That is unexpected.

Is this book supposed to be funny? Maybe my dark humor is at play but so much of this book is a bit ridiculous and I keep hearing myself do one of those phsss laughs ?

Talk about the Flu Epidemic of 1918-20 is surreal now after the last year and a half. It is interesting to stumble across it in a book from almost 20 years ago, and to see masking and social distancing discussed.

I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old.

Well. That first line was a choice 😆
#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl

Challenging book club disc. on this one today. It was my fault for not being focused enough with my questions. This is a dense, meditative book without a plot, really. You cld spend an hour talking about just a few pages.

Most interesting to me were the oblique looks at race in 1954 America & the tension between acceptance/appreciation & complacency. Though I was ambivalent for much of the experience, it would be a good book to re-read.

Tagging my next read in a hope that it is picked for #bookspin and I can get #bookspinbingo off to a good start!

July List

27-30 May 2021 (audiobook)
A beautifully written book, superbly narrated. Robinson‘s writing is poetic and the slow, steady pace was a calming antidote to this week - Melbourne entered Lockdown 4.0 just hours after my husband finally sat his last specialisation exams.

For an atheist, the theological sections were hard-going and I am uncertain whether to continue the series. Are the sequels, given they centre on other characters, less religious?

This book takes the form of a letter from a pastor to his young son. He intends for it to be read by the son after he has passed away and the son is grown. I loved the feeling of imparting wisdom, the family history is interesting and I liked the characters. It understandably strays into philosophical and theological ponderings (which on occasion lost me) but I did like it overall ⭐⭐⭐