The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

If you have ever wanted to have a Highland Fling, I have just the book for you. The Bookshop on the Corner features a pastoral setting in Scotland, plenty of intriguing characters, a romance or two, and lots of book talk — always a plus. 

It is pure escape.

The Birmingham library that Nina has worked in for years closes its doors. Ready for a change, she buys a large van, fills it with her own collection of books and books discarded from the closed library, moves to Kirrinfief, Scotland, and opens her own mobile bookstore which she promptly names Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After. She travels from village to village, market day to market day, connecting her customers with just the right book.

Now that she is away from the noise and confusion and traffic of the city, she comes to realize how much the beauty of the countryside appeals to her. It's rich and wild and strange, and yet, she feels at home. 

Nina's best friend Surinder (her mother was on the police force; I laughed out loud!) offers moral support although she lacks the courage to pick up her life and move as well. Nina has a couple of romantic encounters - a poetic one right out of a romance novel, and the other one a little more down to earth. 

The book contains glorious descriptions of flowers and food, dawns and sunsets, weather both calm and dramatic. There are feasts and festivals. One, celebrating Midsummer's Eve was a delight to behold with its huge bonfire, dancing, and drinking to celebrate the solstice.

I quite enjoyed Nina's adventures and was cheering for her risky venture to succeed. I love a story about starting over. Really, who hasn't thought of ditching their current life and creating the one they have dreamed of? 

Fling on!

Money, Eternity, and Books

Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project has really gotten me thinking about what activities and actions add to my happiness.

July - We have gone through money: Indulge in a modest splurge; buy needful things; spend out; and, give something up.

August - We have contemplated the heavens: Read memoirs of catastrophe; keep a gratitude journal; and, imitate a spiritual master/teacher.

September - Today we pursued a passion: Write a novel; make time; forget about results; and, master a new technology.

I am with her on the money. I do occasionally splurge - I bought myself an espresso maker for Christmas; I try to keep supplies of what I always use - toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo -- on hand; I took a friend to lunch today; I gave up buying stationery...well, mostly.

As to the heavens, I do not read misery lit or memoirs of devastating disease or death; I keep a gratitude journal in my heart; and, my spiritual teachers are writers on nature - the turning of the seasons, the beauty of the landscape, the joys of gardens, forests, and oceans.

Rubin's passion has to do with books and writing. Mine too. No argument there, but I don't have a desire to write a novel in 30 days as she did. I do, however, like the idea of commiting to some activity every day for a month. Sketching, reading poetry, or taking a walk outside. The feeling of accomplishment brings happiness.

I do make time to do something every day that I enjoy. I have a bit of trouble though in letting go of results. Like this blog. Even though I don't promote it, yet, I still hope to see a comment by someone who has stumbled on Belle, Book, and Candle. And it seems as if every day there is a new technological puzzle to solve.

I find it inspiring to read what steps Rubin has taken to enhance her happiness, to see if they have worked, and to see how many activities we have in common. I doubt if I would get as much satisfaction from someone who has, let's say, more active activities - mountain climbing, scuba diving, marathoning. Although those narratives can be inspirational, I am just not someone who is going to look to such recreations to bring me happiness.

New books, new beginnings

I love beginnings. New years, new books, new blogs.

I am Belle, a woman of a certain age living in the South. I am happiest when I am with books...reading or thinking about reading or getting ready to read. This blog will be my reflections on books.

Hence, the candle.

I read 44 books in 2011. I keep a list at my desk. That doesn't count the many books that I started and couldn't stomach. I used to feel compelled to finish a book once begun, but no more.

I go to the library at least once a week. Of the five or 10 books I bring home, maybe two or three make the cut. And I can't tell you how many books I have waited for for months, based on a recommendation from a blog or a friend, that were returned started but not finished.

I enjoy books that take place in England and especially those between the wars. I have garnered many titles from bloggers in the British Isles and am thankful for their recommendations.

I read mysteries. Not the bloody ones, but the golden age ones where a body is discovered in the library and the focus is on solving the crime not violent and bloody descriptions.

Other than mysteries, I read mostly non-fiction. The first book I finished in 2011 was a book of essays published by The National Trust titled "Simple Pleasures." The next was a collection of essays by Pat Conroy on "My Reading Life." The only book by Conroy that I have read.

I finished out the year with "Stillmeadow Calendar" by Gladys Taber. It is a month-by-month journey through the year of life in her New England house built in 1690 and the 40 acreas that surround the house.

Taber wrote in the '50s and '60s. She touches on topics as diverse as child-rearing, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, cocker spaniels and Irish setters, the migration of wild geese, and throws in a couple of recipes to boot. A lovely meditation on nature and the seasons. I want to hug her words to me.