How To Read A Book

Harriet, aka Bookie, loves the book club that she runs. After losing her husband and retiring from her teaching position she feels untethered in the world. But when she is at book club she feels part of something meaningful. This women’s prison in Maine is a scary place to enter - even for Bookie, the quintessential Librarian/English teacher. These women are meant to feel trapped, helpless and numb. She wants them to “hear” their voices, to experience the words on the page. When Violet is released she is on the “Outs” for the first time in three years. Her family renounced her and she is terrified. At 22 years old she must start over carrying her grave mistakes, these bags too heavy to maneuver through breakfast let alone a big city and brand new life. Frank Daigle works in the local bookshop. When he lost his wife in a horrific accident he too finds it impossible to make sense of the past while forging a way forward. The calming balm of being surrounded by books is like a warm blanket on a very cold day, and part time handyman job might be the beginning of his new chapter. When the lives of these characters merge they find new definitions for friendship, family and love. The people that surround us stacked like books on the shelves of our lives, defining their existence is simply the way we choose to see them in our story. This book, seemingly simple at first pulls the reader in and will not let go. While you examine the love and loss these characters have experienced, a true reader is reminded that books are truly part of the air we breathe. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐