In times of struggle, there are as many reasons not to read as there are to breathe. Don't you have better things to do? Reading, let alone rereading, is the terrain of milquetoasts and mopey spinsters. At life's ugliest junctures, the very act of opening a book can smack of cowardly escapism. Who chooses to read when there's work to be done?
Call me a coward if you will, but when the line between duty and sanity blurs, you can usually find me curled up with a battered book, reading as if my mental health depended on it. And it does, for inside the books I love I find food, respite, escape and perspective. I find something else too: heroines and authors, hundreds of them, women whose real and fictitious lives have covered terrain I too must tread. Don't we all need some heroines in our own lives?
In the latest book, The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore, the author takes an interesting journey into what reading our books teaches us about how to deal with life from the characters in our book and at times from the authors life as well. I had never really considered it before until I read this book at my own personal collection of books I have read from childhood til now. The stories that comprised my life and little did I know the lessons I have taken from them.
In the Little House On The Prairie Series for example I learned that the simple life isn't just about doing without. It's about being content with what you have. It's about knowing the relationships are more important than the things we can buy, that those are priceless. We learn about perseverance instead of giving up, we learn that success is achieved after long years at times of hard work. We also learn that new experiences are all part of life's journey and we may not know their purpose until we get through it all.
Erin Blakemore takes the readers into some of our classic characters like Scarlett O'Hara, Jane Austin, Jane Erye, and showcases what types of lessons we may have learned through not only reading them but rereading them. She does some amazing research as well into the lives of the writers who wrote them, what inspired them, what did they achieve out of their book being published and how did society view them. Being a huge literary fan, this book was a home run for me and an eye opening lesson into reading any book today.
I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review and highly recommend it. This is such a treasure that any book fan or lover would adore! For that reason I rate this book a 5 out of 5 literary stars! It will make any book shy person, pick up a book and discover the hidden treasures within its pages.
For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of this book, please click on the links below:
You can also find out more about what other readers have to say after reading this book on the TLC Book Tour by clicking here.
Thanks to the generosity of TLC Book Tours, they are offering a giveaway copy to ONE lucky reader of my blog. Here's all you need to do to enter:
1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. If you new, let me know how you found me.
2. Be a resident of the US or Canada or have a shipping address for either. No P.O. Boxes please.
3. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite book was or is along with your email address. You can use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols. I will be notifying the winner via email when the giveaway ends.
The giveaway will end on December 10th.
