Recent Reads Reviewed #4

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert – 5/5

This was one of my favourite books this year so far, and maybe ever! There were so many clever ideas and stories in this book that moved me and Gilbert’s voice came across authentic and personal, it was like talking to a very wise friend. There were a few things that stood out to me while reading, one was the chapter about enchantment where she tells us about her own experiences of creative magic and she touches on creative friendships, which struck a chord. I loved reading her perspective on things throughout. It was a quick and easy book to read actually, I flew through it, and I had to take a moment to admire how pretty the cover is.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson – 5/5

I read this over the summer, another book I just devoured. I picked this one up off my Mum’s bookshelf, and went in fairly blind to the plot, but it really took me by surprise at how much I loved it. I think the writing style and storytelling was extremely beautiful, the story is of an elderly artist and her six-year-old granddaughter who are away on a summer vacation together on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. This book is a literary classic, and outside my normal comfort zone, yet one of the best books I’ve ever read.

The Ice-Cream Makers by Ernest van der Kwast – 5/5

This was the first book I ever won on a Goodreads giveaway, and have had it on my shelf for a little while now. I picked it up mid-summer, as I thought the themes of ice-cream would fit the season. The story is of an Italian family ice-cream business, but eldest son Giovanni Talamini decides to break away by pursuing a literary career. Giovanni faces a dilemma: serve the family’s interests one last time or choose his own path in life, once and for all. This was a superb novel, I loved the writing, descriptions of the ice-cream, and believable characters.

Are you a seasonal reader? What makes you become interested in a book? :-) Xx