The Sweetness of Surrendering to a Book

I don't often allow myself an entire day of reading these days. I remember traveling alone to a Mazatlan resort when I was in my 20's, delighting in days spent sitting by the pool with a paperback and a tall, fruity drink. Can I recapture some of that feeling without leaving home? I think it's worth a try. Does it require a beach or pool and good-looking young waiters wearing shorts? Let's hope not.

Photo by Link Hoang on Unsplash

I'm going to schedule a vacation day. Looking it my calendar, Sunday, May 19, seems like a reasonable choice. I'll stock the refrigerator the day before with delicious things to eat and drink. I'll pretend I don't have access to email or the internet. I'll settle in with a book I'm eager to read. Will you join me?

I think my vacation-day book will be Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles.

I love Towles' writing. With Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Lincoln Highway, he has given me many hours of reading pleasure. Table for Two is a collection of shorter fiction, with six short stories and a novella. I bought this book in hardcover; it landed in my mailbox earlier this week. The challenge will be saving it for vacation day.

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Sometimes a book grabs you from the very first page. That was the case with Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel.

Andi Taylor is pumping her hands together, hitting her own flat stomach, thinking not of her mother sitting at home with her little brother, not of her car, which barely got her here, not of her summer job, her lifeguarding at the overcrowded community pool, not of the four-year-old she watched die, the four-year-old she practically killed, and his blue cheeks. They shouldn't give teenagers the job of saving children.       – From Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel

Andi Taylor is one of eight teenagers who have gathered in a seedy boxing gym in Reno, Nevada to compete in the finals of the Daughters of American tournament, the championship event of the Women's Youth Boxing Association.

This isn't a book about boxing. The author uses the tournament bracket as the structure through which she takes us inside the minds of these eight young women. We learn what brought each woman to the sport, what drives her, what she fears, and what she is fighting for. We also get a glimpse of who she will become, with flashes of her life decades in the future.

The shifting perspective and razor-sharp writing make this a book I couldn't put down. Ultimately, it didn't matter who won the tournament; I was rooting for each of them to win the internal battles of which they may not even be aware.

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As always, the book links in this newsletter are affiliate links for Bookshop.org. If you make a purchase using these links, I'll receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. These books are likely also available through your local public library.

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Looking for knitting?

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I'm working on a few design commissions I can't show you yet. The yarn companies reserve the right to reveal new designs, so I can't steal their thunder.

But don't despair—I got my hands on a brand-new yarn from my friends at Purl Soho, and I'll be publishing a full review next week. This is a beautiful yarn for warm-weather knitting, so watch this space.

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Following up

Thanks to all who responded to the poll in last week’s newsletter. 84% of those who responded gave the thumbs up to affiliate links, as long as they are properly disclosed. I’ll begin looking for opportunities to use affiliate links for future product reviews. Rest assured that I’ll always disclose that relationship to you and the availability of an affiliate link will not influence my decision to recommend a product. I’ll only tell you about yarn and other products I’d be happy to purchase and use myself.

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Some things that caught my eye

• Take a peek inside the book conservation lab at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with this article from the New York Times.

• I loved this episode of The Ezra Klein Show. He's in conversation with Adam Moss, the award-winning former editor of New York magazine and author of the new book The Work of Art: How Something Comes From Nothing. I've put a hold on the book at my public library.

Continue the conversation

How often do you spend an entire day lost in a book? Have you given yourself a “vacation day” at home? What did you do? How did you make it work for your life? Leave a comment and tell me about it!