Book Review: Those Precious Days by Ann Patchett, published by Harper

 Those Precious Days is a collection of 22 essays--24 if you count the essays Ann Patchett wrote for the Introduction and Epilogue. She wrote about what she needs, whom she loves, what she can let go of, and how much energy it takes to let go. But it's what she writes about writing that intrigued me the most.

For example...

'When I'm putting together a novel, I leave all the doors and window open so the characters can come in and just as easily leave.' (p. 238)

Some points she made I agreed with...

'I've found that when some thought wakes me, writing it down is my best hope of going back to sleep.' (p. 187)

Some I didn't...

'writing must be separate from editing and if you try to do both things at the same time, nothing will get done.' (p. 63)

I've always combined editing with writing.

Those Precious Days

Ann Patchett

Harper

an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

2021

320 pages

Reading These Precious Days was like chatting with an old friend.

I'd like to thank Anne Logan of I've Read This: Book Reviews for Bookworms  for recommending this book.

I've also reviewed State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.

Go RED for Dyslexia

photo by ldyck

October on this Blog...

Scotiabank Giller Prize

and...

Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize

and...

City of Victoria Butler Book Prize

and...

It's literary awards season and we're celebrating on this blog. I'm devoting the entire month to reviewing books...

Sunday, October 16

Book Review: Everyone in this room will someday be dead (novel) by Emily Austin

Sunday, October 24

Book Review: Hannah and Ariela (novel) by Johnnie Bernhard

Sunday, October 31

 The Dollhouse: a ghost story by Charis Cotter

What happened to and on Sunday, October 9? Well, you know I couldn't go an entire month without sharing a short story. And so...

Sunday, October 9

Mistakes by Leanne Dyck (short story)

This story was inspired by my career as an Early Childhood Educator caring for children in daycare centres.

And I'll sneak other stories in here and there. Keep your eyes open...

Oh, yes and on Wednesday, October 12 I'll record Books and share it on this blog. And with your help, there will be more recordings. I'm always open to suggestions.

'as a writer I am first and foremost my father's daughter. I didn't operate out of a desire to please him so much as a desire not to offend him, and the truth is that the constraints did my work little harm. I found plenty of things to write about that weren't smoking or swearing or sex.' (p. 300)

As for me...

For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing is sharing

Hmm... a list of book quotes collected by Leanne Dyck

photo by ldyck

December can be a challenging month for many, including me. So I thought I'd help us start the month on a positive note with this list of quotes--collected since 2012 from the books I've reviewed for this blog. I invite you to select a quote to act as an affirmation. Click on each book's title and the link will take you to my review.

'"Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find."' State of Wonder, Ann Patchett

'"It's what you learn after you think you know it all that counts."' Short, Holly Goldberg Sloan

 '[A] man finds what he looks for, and he who believes in a ghost will surely find a ghost.' Independent People, Halldor Laxness

'"Parents owe their children everything, always and unconditionally."' The Saturday Night Ghost Club, Craig Davidson

'Many hearts beating together make us stronger.' Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese

'[N]ormal is just a setting on the dryer.' Short, Holly Goldberg Sloan

'It's never the differences between people that surprise us. It's the things that, against all odds, we have in common.'  
Short, Holly Goldberg Sloan

'Do all the good you can/By all the means you can/In all the ways you can/In all the places you can/At all the times you can/To all the people you can/As long as you ever can -John Wesley's Rule' Wonder, RJ Palacio 

'The old us is a new us every day, and we have to accept that we will have a beginning and a middle and an end.' 
Short, Holly Goldberg Sloan

'We are saved by saving others.' Sweep, Jonathan Auxier 

 '"You can't have courage without fear."' Sweep, Jonathan Auxier 

'The goal to be reached and the determination to reach it are brother and sister, and slumber in the same heart.' Independent People, Halldor Laxness

'No matter what happens, the past has a permanence. The past is safe.' An Ocean of Minutes, Thea Lim

 Next Sunday evening...

December 8:  Christmas Secrets (short story)

I wasn't always this fine example of a human being. Next Sunday I'll reveal what a truly horrible child I was. Please don't judge me too harshly.

Sharing my author's journey...

Yesterday, November 30, I entertained a room full of people with my writing during a Storyteller Evening.

Book Review: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (adventure)

I didn't simply walk into my local bookstore, buy State of Wonder and start reading. No, I was led to this book through a series of coincidences.

How I found this book...

Multi-genre author Elizabeth Gilbert divided her book Big Magic:  Creative Living Beyond Fear into six sections:  Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistent, Trust and Divinity. In 'Enchantment', Gilbert relates a most intriguing tale. Elizabeth Gilbert and Ann Patchett are friends who frequently correspond by letter. During one of these exchanges, they discovered that they were working on remarkably similar novels. 

"It was about this middle-aged spinster from Minnesota who's been quietly in love with her married boss for many years. He gets involved in a harebrained business scheme down in the Amazon jungle. A bunch of money and a person go missing, and my character gets sent down there to solve things, at which point her quiet life is completely turned into chaos. Also, it's a love story." (p. 53)

It was like their muses had been drinking from the same pool. 

Gilbert's interest in writing the story waned as Patchett's imagination was ignited. Gilbert goes on to say that she could have chosen to be very upset about this. But...

'Instead, I chose to regard this event as having been a terrific little miracle. I allowed myself to feel grateful and astonished to have played any part whatsoever in its strange unfolding....I saw this incident as a rare and glittering piece of evidence that all my most outlandish beliefs about creativity might actually be true--that ideas are alive, that ideas do seek the most available human collaborator, that ideas do have a conscious will, that ideas do move from soul to soul, that ideas will always try to seek the swiftest and most efficient conduit to the earth.' (p. 57)

For me, this story brings to mind the 'collective unconscious' -- a term coined by Carl Gustav Jung. We think we are separate individuals. But the truth of the matter is that we connected. You are part of me; I am part of you. It's in my best interest to treat you well for in doing so I value myself.

After reading that intriguing story and the engaging plot, of course, I wanted to read Ann Patchett's story. But, these days, I limit my book buying to an on-island church fair and library book sale. (I do prepare a long list for my husband's gift-giving needs -- thoughtful wife that I am). And as parting with well-loved books is as painful as having a tooth extracted, I don't borrow them. So the chances of me reading State of Wonder were slim. I tried to push any thought of the book out of my head. Hmm, yeah, well, good luck. 

Thankfully, I did remember it because... What do you think I found at the church fair? You guessed it. 

State of Wonder

My review...

I began to read--a book that had nearly been written by Elizabeth Gilbert but was written by Ann Patchett-- hoping that the right author had been charmed. (I'm a fan of Gilbert's writing, but I didn't know Patchett.)

'This single sheet had traveled from Brazil to Minnesota to mark the passing of a man, a breath of tissue so insubstantial that only the stamp seemed to anchor it to this world.' (p. 1)

'[T]he big chair took her in its arms, tilted her back, and told her repeatedly to rest.' (p. 51)

From page one, I was charmed by Patchett's finely crafted sentences.

The story trickled out drop by drop like water from a faucet.

I see similarities in setting and, at times, tone between State of Wonder and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. 

'[O]n a boat...down a river into the beating heart of nowhere.' (p. 163)

'Mr. Fox stood on the dock and stared at Swenson and stared at the entire flaming tableau that spread behind her.' (p. 301)

As in Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, protagonist, Marina leaves Minnesota and travels to the Amazon and then returns home. While in the Amazon Marina battles a "dragon" but she is a selfless hero--the loved one she saves belongs to another.

This book has remained with me long after I finished reading the last chapter. I have questions--so many questions.

-After being tested by the Amazon, did Marina gain a clearer understanding of herself and her wants?

-She seems to fit in better in the Amazon and yet chooses to return to the United States, why?

-She proved to be a devoted, capable caregiver. She ate the bark; she had sex. Is she pregnant?
Check out this Goodreads discussion.

-Will she continue to work at Vogel Pharmaceuticals? Will she continue her relationship with Mr. Fox (her boss)? Will her relationship with Ander (her co-worker) and Karen (his wife) be strained?

Favourite quote:  ' "Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find." ' (p. 246) 

Photo by Leanne Dyck

Picture Books in Canada

Telling Tales Festival

 Sunday, September 18

Westfjeld Heritage Village Rockton, Ontario

'Telling Tales is a free, one-day outdoor festival...showcas[ing] over 20 of Canada's leading children's authors, illustrators, storytellers and musicians.' -from the website

learn more 

Photo by Leanne Dyck

Sharing my author journey...

After what feels like several months of silence, I finally received