I’d like to remind you of the saying that “great minds think alike” when I tell you that I selected The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes for my Book of the Month Club November 2019 selection at the same time that Reese Witherspoon chose it as her latest pick for the Hello Sunshine Book Club.
(It won’t surprise any of you to notice that my one photo with Reese Witherspoon, and I was talking throughout the entire snap of the shutter – ugh!)
Here is what Reese said this about the book:
It’s such a great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together, especially for these women who are completely bonded by their love of literature.
Again, I agree with her wholeheartedly!
An avid reader, a book collector, and a student of library science, I have a strong belief in the power of books, stories, narrative, and words. The Giver of Stars is a beautiful reflection of these truths, and for that I give it 4 stars on my rating scale.
The story is set in Kentucky during the late 1930’s and focuses on a group of daring, brave, and strong women who work as WPA Packhorse librarians serving a poor, rural, mining community. Albeit a fictional story, the trials and challenges they faced are written straight out of historical accounts and the book is based on actual events.
Strangely enough, just a few weeks ago I listened to an audio book along these same lines: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson and audio by Katie Schorr. I didn’t write a full review since I gave it only 3 stars, but it’s still worth listening to on a car ride or while working around the house.
I find it amazing how certain plots and settings really grab us, and both of these stories did that for me.
I refuse to give away spoilers, but I will share a few excerpts that really spoke to me from The Giver of Stars…
“Look outwards, Alice,” Margery would say, her voice carrying on the breeze. “Not much point worrying what the town thinks about you – nothing you can do about it anyway. But when you look outwards, why, there’s a whole world of beautiful things.”
Isn’t that the truth! When we get too caught up in worry about what people are saying, doing, and thinking, we completely lose sight of the bigger picture, the blessings and bounty all around us. When we sense ourselves falling into that trap (which is so easy to do!), I find it best to refocus by looking outward, too.
The appetite for books had become relentless. Children followed them down the street, begging for something to read.
I promise not to get up on a high horse here, but I do believe that our world would be a better place – a happier environment for young people – if we could unplug the electronics and rediscover a passion for books. Not just reading (people can rightfully claim they read all day long…Twitter, Facebook, captions, websites on their digital devices), but actually reading books. Physical books with paper pages that are turned and felt and smelled. I would love see firsthand a world where the appetite for books is relentless and children beg for something to read!
Time flew, and each ended the night full and happy, with the rare glow that comes from knowing your very being has been understood by somebody else, and that there might just be someone out there who will only ever see the best in you.
I love this! I am always saying that two people who really go together just right will always put the other person before themselves, they always see and bring out the best in one another.
I’m the luckiest girl I know…my sweetheart is a perfect combination of Sven and Fred. If you take the time to read The Giver of Stars, you’ll see what I mean.
And then you’ll agree that I am the luckiest girl you know, too.
With love and hugs,
Ashli