This month the Trellis on Orchard Blog is celebrating reading! Reading has plenty of proven benefits, but our favorite is just how relaxing it is! This month we’re helping you pick out a good book with five different book recommendations. We’ve got it all—historical fiction, nonfiction, fiction, a play, and a mystery.
The White Album by Joan Didion
Joan Didion examines the wreck of the sixties with poignant and perceptive essays like “The White Album,” “James Pike, American,” “Holy Water,” “Georgia O’Keefe.” and “On the Morning After the Sixties.” Didion’s work, though no longer contemporary, still holds the bite and sting it held when first published.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Ruthie and Lucille are raised by their grandmother after their mother’s death. When their grandmother dies, their Aunt Sylvie steps in to take her place. Aunt Sylvie is different from the rest of the town — she doesn’t seem to have much interest in keeping house, following schedules, or maintaining a reputation. When the town becomes suspicious, Lucille and Ruthie must make a choice: do they stay together or fall apart? Ruthie narrates this tale of transience and loneliness.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Werner is a young German boy whose gift with radios and circuitry leads him to a top Nazi school and eventually out into the army. Marie-Laurre is a young French girl whose father’s mission to protect the infamous jewel, “The Sea of Flames,” leads her out of Paris and to Saint-Malo. Their paths cross and diverge in All the Light We Cannot See.
The Importance of Being Earnest
John wishes to marry Gwendolen, and Algernon wishes to marry Cecily. The problem is that both women believe that their intended’s name is “Ernest,” and they refuse to marry anyone who isn’t named Ernest. The two scramble to cover their lies (coincidentally, with even more lying) in this screwball comedy.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The unnamed narrator arrives at Manderley, an impressive country estate, after marrying Maxim de Winter, the owner and heir to the property. She is soon tormented by the memory of Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca. The neighbors, guests, and servants are all devoted to the memory of Rebecca, but no one is more devoted than the twisted Mrs. Danvers. As the mysteries pile up, the narrator begins to wonder if marrying Maxim and coming to Manderley was a big mistake.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list! Don’t forget to check out your local library in Tacoma, WA this month to see what books the librarians are recommending.