The Pen and Book Files

  This book contains mentions of the following: loss of loved ones, illness.      Even in a casual conversation, we are telling stories. Memories constantly shift, becoming their own tales with a beginning and an end. Those stories bring back feelings of a happier time and can even drive away the despair of the present. That is the lesson that Janet Skeslien Charles aims to teach with this novel, about Jessie Carson (whom she researched for a decade) and one woman's aim to have Carson's work given its rightful recognition.      There's a large table at my local BJ's Wholesale Club dedicated to, you guessed it, books. I discovered Miss Morgan's Book Brigade there and picked it up immediately. Regardless of the actual content, any work which talks about the inherent magic of books themselves deserve is an immediate 10/10 in my book. Add in my second great love of history, and we're in business!      Jessie Carson was one of many women...

       What's your favorite book?      A simple question with a complicated answer. If you were to ask me, I would simply direct you to my bookshelves; any book still sitting there is most likely on the list. My favorite book is always changing, as the tides change with the sun's crossing across the horizon far beyond our reach. Any list that I could make of my favorites would include most, if not all, of the selections which I have perused. Some are so worn that their spines bear the marks of many a thumb-urning, while others have only been read once and then kept in their place of honor amidst the shelves. (My special edition of Fangirl is, admittedly, in the latter category.) That doesn't mean I love them any less, however, and eventually I will circle back to a book that I haven't read just to remember the cozy feeling it lights within my heart.      Books are more than an escape. They are a miracle, a world built entirely of ink pla...