A guest blogger shares some of her favorite books:
Comments are encouraged.
Dear Diary, Dear Letter Writer
Dear Diary, Dear Letter Writer,
Come. Won’t you share your splendid book shelves with us? Those dozens of glorious spines silently huddled together, yet, oh, what a wonderful noise their words make when the pages fall open in your hands or march across the screen of your Kindles and Nooks.
Here’s the book subjects. I’ll start, then you share. Good?
Epistolary Fiction. Diary/Journal Writing Nonfiction. Letter Writing Nonfiction.
To quote George C. Scott from the movie Patton (but gearing towards the subject typed above, of course) I say full with passion and obsession: “God help me, I do love it so.”
Epistolary fiction is described as stories that are enhanced with the inclusion of letters, diary entries and various fictional documents. These books tend to be my personal favorites in fiction and how my heart skips giddy when I find another to read!
Possession by A.S. Byatt tops my fav list. It’s an investigative story by 2 main scholars as they search to uncover a Victorian mystery- was there a connection between the highly respected poet Randolph Henry Ash and the reclusive poetess Christabel LaMotte.
My second cherished book is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova featuring yet another scholarly duo as they travel across Europe in search of the next clue to finding if Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) was based on a factual person.
More Epistolary fiction making appearances on my shelves (and Nook) are: As Always, Jack (Emma Sweeney); The Wandering Heart (Mary Malloy); P.O. Box Love (Paola Calvetti); The Ghost Writer and The Séance (John Harwood); Letters From Father Christmas (J.R.R. Tolkien); The Map Of Love(Ahdaf Soueif); The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows);The Monsters Of Templeton (Lauren Groff); Daddy Long Legs (Jean Webster); The Year Of Secret Assignments (Jaclyn Moriarty); Goodnight Tweetheart (Teresa Medeiros); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley); Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Diary/Journal Writing Nonfiction makes my hands very grabby. Especially in a library and bookstore! I do not own many, and I need to reread what I have, but my most recent purchases are Speaking Of Journals by Paula W. Graham. A packed little book of 15 interviews with children’s storybook writers, their journaling history, and what the diary/ journal meant to them.
Note to Self by Samara O’Shea is not a publication for the faint of heart as she shares rather intimate entries. Her book is an enjoyable read as she imparts her advice in the art of personal writing. Her first book on the market is called For The Love Of Letters.
Other Diary/Journal nonfiction volumes staring out from my library walls are: Writing As A Way Of Healing (Louise Desalvo); Life’s Companion (Christina Baldwin); A Life In Hand (Hannah Hinchman): and a scant 3 issues of the old magazine Personal Journaling. How I wish I’d overlooked the price tag back then and just bought a subscritption.
Letter Writing Nonfiction to my embarrassment is my tiniest lot of the 3 subjects, but they are no less dear! I’ve just finished a library copy of an exquisite new book on this topic and now my debit card is at the ready! It’s called To The Letterby Simon Garfield. He covers letter writers from tablet days to paper; from famous writers to a World War II soldier’s love letters to his girl. And Mr. Garfield delves into the history of the postage stamp, formation of the post office, and the sad dead letter office. Truly, I’m not joking, you’ll find yourself eager to read it to the end.
Sandwiched in the shelves as well are: Gift Of The Letter (Alexandra Stoddard) and How To Write Love Letters (Michelle Loveric)
Sharing with you was fun! You have some fun too! What Epistolary Fiction; Diary/Journal Writing; and/or Letter Writing Nonfiction books do you own? Some of us may rush straight way to the library or turn on computers to order a copy!
Kindredly yours,
Cindy
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11/14/20 Veterans Day has passed. My family fought in the Revolutionary War. Several were on the side of the North in the Civil War. (Lucius Chubb was part of the Iron Brigade which suffered huge losses in the first battle at Gettysburg and died of his wounds a month later.) My dad was in World War II, in the Navy, eventually on Guam. I am most proud of this letter he wrote to my mother while he was still stationed in Ames, Iowa. Their first baby was my brother Paul.
National Diary Archive 