Compilation: 7 Books Set in a Bookstore

Booklovers relish a good trip to the bookstore. Who, among us, doesn't enjoy browsing and dreaming of all the books we'd purchase if money didn't elude us? Here are seven books set in a bookstore:

1. Bookshop by the Sea by Denise Hunter
2. The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
3. The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
4. Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof
5. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
6. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
7. The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

These are merely 7 such books I have enjoyed in recent years. Obviously, just as booklovers enjoy bookstores, writers enjoy setting their books in bookstores, so the options are endless. Now, I'm off to watch an old favorite movie, "You've Got Mail." Personal mail, rival bookstores, unlikely romance! When those three converge, it promises great entertainment.

Book Review: The Master Quilter

The Master Quilter is book six in the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini. We return to the same characters we've encountered before. The quilters are all attempting to surprise the newlywed Sylvia Bergstrom Compson with a wedding quilt. They request contributions from quilters far and wide. They store these quilt blocks at Bonnie's local quilt shop. Mystery is afoot when someone robs the quilt shop and steals the quilt blocks for Sylvia's quilt. Keeping secrets is tough and can sometimes cause more trouble than expected. 

This book is told in a different format, diving into separate perspectives of the story. Yet, the reader is once again provided a clean story full of interesting characters, commentary on quilting, and a well-paced plot. After hearing about the expensive digital Bernina sewing machine, I had to chuckle when I saw a used one on Craigslist listed at $4200. If I hadn't read this book, I may have thought the seller was out of their mind to place such a high price on used goods. Now, I know the true value of such a machine.

Book Review: Walter the Farting Dog: Banned from the Beach

Walter may be banned from the beach, but some parents wish this series about Walter banned from the children's shelves. Seriously! There are parents out there concerned about the overuse of the word "fart" in a series of books with special boy appeal. Now, if only they could ban farts, an ever-present problem in our homes. Ha!

My boys, in their younger days, loved the first two Walter the Farting Dog books. I find the series harmless fun. In every book, Walter's farts save the day. In this book, Walter farts "philosophically" and, in a maneuver of biblical proportions, clears a way for his beloved children to make it safely back onto dry land. Since I needed to read a banned book for my library's winter reading program, the final three books in this series fit the bill. By all means, avoid these books if you are sensitive to discussions of natural bodily functions, but leave them on the shelves for boys who might feel more amenable to books because of this hilarious take on a dog plagued by difficulties and judged for his flatulence.

Book Review: Circle of Quilters

Oh, how I've blown it with chronological reading in this Elm Creek Quilts series. I started with the eighth book, read the eleventh, the twentieth, and then read the fifth. This book, Circle of Quilters, is the ninth book. After I had already started it, I realized my library had an audio book for the sixth book, The Master Quilter. So, everything is higgledy-piggledy. I'm already privy to news from further down the line, yet I continue to choose these books because I'm assured of a clean read.

In Circle of Quilters, we meet another cast of characters as various individuals respond to job openings for two new instructors at Elm Creek Manor. Karen is desperate to find a new identity as she struggles with the sometimes restrictive role that mothering demands. But will her family stand in the way of acquiring the Elm Creek job? Anna is a creative quilter and skilled chef. If only her boyfriend could embrace her career path. Russ turns to quilting in his grief at the loss of his wife. This job might settle him finally. Maggie falls in love with a cast-off quilt and explores its history. Perhaps, she is a perfect fit for the job. Then there's Gretchen, who has lived in the shadow of Heidi, her employer, for decades. Can she prove her creativity and teaching skills enough to secure a coveted post at Elm Creek Quilt Camp?

Similar to The Giving Quilt, every character's life-story unveils like separate blocks on a quilt. What a tough decision the Elm Creek staff must make. Each individual brings so much possibility to the table. Each has overcome tremendous obstacles. Who will they select?

Book Review: These Precious Days

I'm familiar with Ann Patchett's name. I even purchased a copy of her book, Bel Canto, after reading about it on another book review blog. However, it has remained unopened in my basement for years. It is always interesting how a variety of connections bring you to a particular book. Here, my renewed interest in reading Ann Patchett's work developed through an interview with Kate Di Camillo (a favorite children's author) on a podcast about book recommendations. I finally read one of her books, The Dutch House, two years ago.

I love reading personal essays. Something about getting inside another person's brain and life experiences is very appealing. Plus, often, you glean wisdom about writing. These Precious Days presents a variety of topics, but all of them home in on the gifts of relationship, writing, and reading. She writes about relationships with her three different fathers. I laughed out loud as she described her relationship with her best friend, Tavia. She describes Tavia as a gorgeous and popular girl who draws people like moths to a flame. This was perhaps my favorite passage:

"Boys trailed her like a tail on a kite, discomfited by desire.... As for me, well, I wasn't that girl. Not only did I pale beside her (of course I did, everyone did), but I lacked her buoyancy and ease as well. I was a serious kid. No boys were standing outside my window. 'You were too busy making art,' she tells me, as if boys were kept away by the force field of my poetry, my ceramics."

Too funny! I laugh because I relate! My other favorite essay explains the writing wisdom gleaned from Snoopy. Yes, Snoopy! It is a beautiful piece any writer will enjoy. In it, she shares a hilarious snippet where Snoopy receives an invitation to come out and play. In true rejection letter format, he gives his apologies and ends with, "We hope you will be successful elsewhere." Ha!

She also shares homage essays to Eudora Welty and Kate Di Camillo. Since I love Kate Di Camillo's work (sad to say, not as familiar with Welty), I now intend to remedy the oversight of missing her book called The Magician's Elephant. This is the one Patchett declares her favorite. She writes about coming to provide an endorsement for Tom Hanks' short story collection and then through him, meeting his personal assistant, Sooki. She writes about securing Hanks as the narrator of the audio version of The Dutch House (the way I consumed the book).

The title of this book comes from her interactions with Sooki. A very private woman, Sooki shares a simple statement of her battle with cancer. Patchett, whose husband is a doctor, secures her a spot in local clinical trials and invites her to stay in their home. Ah, the beauty of this example of giving leading to far greater receiving. As is always true, when you open your heart to another, your own heart expands.

Content caution: 📒 - the book explains her father's unheeded suggestions to remove sexual content from her books and also shares an experience with drugs, intended to ease some of Sooki's pain.

My Book - Watching the Wayward

 

If you've faced the unknown of life with a rebellious child, you might relate to the prayer poems in my book, Watching the Wayward. The book not only provides 62 psalms for parents of prodigals, but also offers further scriptural supports and journaling questions. Thus, you can dig deeper and explore personally the topics presented in each poem. My prayer is that these words will soothe your soul and prompt personal reflection that helps you process an often isolating path.

The book is available now on Amazon as an e-book or on Book Baby in paperback form. Amazon has that nifty little option of reading a sample, as well.

Perhaps you know others on this journey. Any further word-of-mouth publicity would be greatly appreciated and a review might make me burst into song (I promise, I'm not too bad a singer).

Book Review: The Quilter's Legacy

I have no desire to become a quilter. If gardening isn't my thing, sewing is even less so. Yet, I'm perfectly willing to dip into the world of quilting because Jennifer Chiaverini's series takes my mind off my exercise and provides a clean book to listen to while I walk. The Quilter's Legacy is my fourth time listening to her books. Although I continue to approach the series out of order (my library doesn't have all of her books in audio form), each seems enough of a standalone novel. 

This book is the fifth in the series. It takes Sylvia Bergstrom Compson on a trip down memory lane as bits and pieces of her mother's life come to light during her search for her mother's quilts. Sylvia's sister Claudia sold the quilts when times were tough and now it takes detective work to locate them again. Although I love historical settings usually, and enjoyed the parts linking the past story with the Titanic, I was less thrilled with the parts outlining the family's experience with the Spanish flu. As another reader mentioned on a Facebook reading circle, "I read to escape." Bring on the other books, though. I'm still in the game.  

Author Website & More Free Pdfs

 

WORDS TO FIX YOUR FOCUS AND SOOTHE YOUR SOUL

My first book of poetry, Watching the Wayward: Psalms for Parents of Prodigals, is available now as an e-book. 

In anticipation of that, I battled my technology-intimidation and created an author website. If you visit the site at www.wendygortonhill.com you will find two separate offers for further free pdfs (in addition to my recommended reads pdf offered here, in the sidebar at the right). The first one on offer is a sample of my poetry. The sample pdf provides four of the poems from my coming book, along with three additional poems. The second pdf provides a resource for parents of prodigals. I have gathered a vast listing of blogs, books, open Facebook groups, organizations, podcasts, and prayer support & downloadables.

You can also find links to published work elsewhere (articles) and fresh contact information. If you have a moment to spare, please visit my new website. Thanks!