Books that Made a Difference: The Blue Castle

Well thank you all so kindly for your comments/advice on my adventures in the neutral zone yesterday!  Your comments were surprising to me, but in a good way, and I am always mindful that there is much to learn in this life. 

My aversion to neutrals has now been tempered by these comments and I will dip my toes into these peaceful waters now and then (only now and then, as frankly, I do not yet have many neutrals!)  But I am now open to them, and my experience with the universe is that once you are open to something, it keeps showing up!

Today I am off on a completely different tangent.

This month's issue of O magazine contains a great article by author Hallie Ephron about her life growing up Ephron and life with a mother who was a talented writer, and unhappily, an alcoholic, which has had a huge impact on Hallie and the other three sisters' lives, including the late, great Nora Ephron.

Now all that information, interesting and candid and moving as it was, did NOT catch my eye.  What caught my eye in this article was the fact that at a certain age each sister received a copy of The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery, from their mother.  Hallie thinks the reason they all received the book was that their mother wanted to ensure that they lived their lives without the constraints of what others think. 

The novel, published in 1926, is not one of the more famous of L.M. Montgomery's works and is definitely not a children's novel.  To read the general plot, visit here, but don't scroll down too far - spoiler alert!  I loved this book when I first read it as a teenager, because this was a character who, upon thinking that her life would soon be over, lives and speaks her truth.  The book is funny and romantic and heart-breaking in places and lovely and heart-warming and I spent many a night dreaming of finding my own Barney Snaith and Blue Castle.

It got me thinking of the gift of a good book.  When I receive a book from a friend I am always so pleased; it is typically a book that he or she thinks I will like, often because they like it.  As a child, my mother took us to the library each week and we stacked up for the coming two weeks.  We certainly owned all of L.M. Montogmery's books, and I continue to read them now and again as an adult and they bring me a lot of comfort.

As per Hallie Ephron, I was trying to think of a book that my mother recommended to me in particular as a youth.  Then I recalled her giving me her copy of Gone with the Wind, the copy I still have.  This particular copy was one she had bought for herself in 1964, but she told me she had first read it at my age - 15 - and been blown away by the sweeping epic of it all. 

Well I read it in 1988 and despite having already seen the movie years before and knowing how it all turned out, I recall crying like a baby through the last 50 pages!  That's what a good story will do for you!

So, like Hallie Ephron, I feel that I must recommend The Blue Castle to you.  But be prepared - it is romantic and lovely and decidedly not fashionable in 2013.  But so good.  And when you are done that, move on to Pat of Silverbush and Mistress Pat.  Oh who am I kidding: read all of Montgomery's work - you will be glad you did!

So today's question: what books meant the world to you as a teenager?  Have you reread them since?  How did they come to you - a recommendation from a parent, a friend, a librarian?

And while we are on librarians - I will say this - librarians are heroes and heroines to me!  Many of my greatest reads as a child were based on the recommendation of a good librarian.

Happy Tuesday all - stay safe out there and read on!

Oh and P.S.  this morning, J Crew is previewing its Fall 2013 collection at New York Fashion week.  I will be checking it out and will report back this morning.  I wish I was there, mostly because, well, I wish I was there!