Tales & Tiger Lily: October 2020
My sister recently joined bookstagram as @talesandtigerlily. Her name is Caroline, and Tiger Lily is her adorable sidekick (pictured above). Since she's discovered a love of reading, I've had the best time talking about books with her. Be sure to check out her introduction post to get to know her better. Once a month, you get a new installment of Tales & Tiger Lily. In each post, she reviews three of her favorite reads from the previous month and ends with a list of everything she read with ratings (and links to reviews, if applicable). Her favorites from October:
“A girl is such an easy thing to break: weak and fragile, all alone, all yours. But they aren’t girls anymore, and they don’t belong to anyone. And they aren’t alone.”
This was the perfect October read — a story of three sisters turning the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. The story takes place in 1893, and the Eastwood sisters are estranged and have drifted apart in life. However, they are drawn together and meet once again at a suffragette rally in New Salem. Witches and voting? There isn’t a better time to read this one.
I loved it so much! I wanted the sisters to join together and face their personal history of pain and sorrow. They were fierce in recovering the power of witchcraft to challenge the men. As they worked to defeat the existing power structures, I was rooting for them!
Alix E. Harrow’s prose is exceptional. Her storytelling and wide range of diverse characters made this such a beautiful read. I love that this novel was thought provoking, in that some of the issues tackled seemed to mirror what is happening in the modern world. If you haven’t read it yet, add it to your TBR! If you loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January, I’m sure you will love this one, too! | 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶
MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE BY LORI GOTTLIEB AND GOOD MORNING, MONSTER BY CATHERINE GILDINER
I read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, and I couldn’t put it down. My sister and mom both devoured it before me, so I knew I would love it. A therapist sharing her own personal life and the lives of people trying to solve their problems — my kind of book. There were moments I was smiling, and at other times my heart sank, and I’d get a lump in my throat. It’s such a sad yet beautiful thing to hear someone’s story.... the childhood pain, the trauma, the terrible events in life that can keep you feeling like you are stuck in concrete. It was beautifully done and one I will definitely be revisiting.
After reading Gottlieb’s book, I quickly bought Good Morning, Monster. It was even heavier than Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, but I loved it even more. The consistent theme of all the people going to therapy was childhood trauma (along with other forms of abuse). Every single person in the book was described as a hero. I was in awe of their ability to overcome the abuse and neglect they suffered at the hands of those who were supposed to care for them.
It got me thinking if we really took the time to know the people around us and embraced vulnerability, we would see so much more than meets the eye. The asshole in line at the store, the stuck up girl at the salon, the waitress that can’t get the order right. Even the wealthy mom who seems to have everything she could ever want or the coworker who is extremely motivated and always smiling. We have no clue what they have gone through in life. In every culture and at every socioeconomic level, one thing is true for all: we all know what it means to deal with pain.
I highly recommend both of these books. They were meaningful and insightful reads that will stay with me for a long time. | 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶
THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE BY V.E. SCHWAB
“What she needs are stories. Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget. Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in painting, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was a breathtakingly beautiful story full of rich details. I felt like I was a child swept up and entranced, listening a fairy tale for the first time. I longed to hear what would happen to Ms. Addie LaRue.
How does one possibly enjoy life when no one can remember you? The curse she bore in the story taught me so much about what it means to truly live. Sure, the adventures are great. The culture is lit. The food was divine. The party was fun. But how can it mean anything if you don’t share it with people you love? People who remember the way you made them feel. To live a life without long-term intimacy would be utterly devastating. As I read the book, I wanted to say to Addie, “I see you. I remember you, too!”
Schwab’s writing is brilliant. It was so good, I often stopped and reread sentences. The plot was so creative, and I kept wanting to discover the final path Addie would take. The author leaves us with an open ending, and it was absolutely perfect. It made you wonder and think about Addie long after closing the book. What mark did she leave on the world? | 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶
Recapping the Rest of Caroline's October Reads:
Swimming Lessons by Lili Reinhart | 🐶🐶🐶.5
I absolutely loved The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue! It was just such a well-written tale. And I'm so excited to read Once and Future Witches this year! I was waiting for the edition I'd ordered from a book subscription box to come, so I didn't get it until the end of 2020. But it's definitely one I'm hoping to read and love this year.
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