.SOMETIMES RAW.

It’s about time I finally cracked this charming little book open. I’ve had it sitting on my bookshelf for a while. The book is a tribute to bookstores, book lovers, and England. This epistolary novel delivered exactly what I expected it to! If it hadn’t already confirmed what I suspected, namely that I’m not the only soul in the world with a book-reading and book-collecting obsession, then Helene Hanff’s experience would have offered the proof I needed.  

What the book is about:

The book consists of the correspondence, from the late 1940s until the late 1960s, between New York writer and bibliophile Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, an employee at Marks & Co. Booksellers at the eponymous address in London. 

Hanff was a voracious, eclectic reader who couldn’t find good American editions of the books she wanted to read. Responding to an advertisement in a periodical, she wrote to Marks & Co., and began her two decades-long epistolary relationship with Doel.

Her chatty, witty and often teasing letters requesting books and Frank’s more conservative, straightlaced missives form the backbone of the work. As their long-distance, customer-bookseller relationship evolves, Hanff occasionally writes to other store employees, as well as Doel’s wife, the couple’s daughters and the family’s elderly neighbour. 

What gradually emerges is a gentle and moving look at two kindred spirits united by their love of the printed word. Hanff’s descriptions of the physical books are so vivid you can practically smell and feel the sturdy covers and the thick, creamy pages. The book also touches on their differing cultures, Hanff’s writing characterized by frank forthrightness, Doel’s, although no less friendly, by a certain civility and politeness.

Their correspondence isn’t just about books, although there are some amusing, illuminating passages about Chaucer, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen, John Donne and Laurence Sterne. Early on, Hanff also sends care packages of food and stockings to the bookstore, much-needed in a time of post-World War II rationing.

Furthermore, there are subtle glimpses into history and the changing nature of society: bookstore employees emigrate to other countries to try their luck; the Doels save up money to buy their first used car; Queen Elizabeth II is crowned; Beatlemania descends on London.

But what I love most of all is the portrait that emerges of Hanff herself. A strong and independent single woman who would rather send cash in the mail than fuss with getting a money order, she starts out living in a tiny, cramped apartment and works her way up the publishing and radio drama world, drawing on much of her reading of literature (thanks to the packages from 84, Charing Cross Road) to create her plays. 

What I also admire is how uncluttered this book is. There were other letters, but Hanff trusts the reader to do the work to connect the dots. By reading a “reply” we can intuit what’s being replied to. There are no baggy, self-important, italicized passages about what’s in the letters themselves. And the graceful ending is stunning in its understatement. I’m pleased to finally say I can move this book from the nightstand to the “keepers” shelf. I’m just a bit sorry that it ended all too soon. I could have kept reading about Helene and Frank for days yet. This little gem also serves as a reminder to not put off until tomorrow what you’d love to do today. Time is shorter than we imagine, and the people we wish to meet and the places we yearn to visit are waiting for us. The time is now!

One last thought: Likely, you won’t be surprised to learn that secondhand bookstores are one of my most treasured places on earth to visit or even to have my own just like Marks & Co. one day. Used books are amazing. I love thinking about all the other readers who have previously held these books in their hands. Did they like the book but not well enough to keep it at home on that favorite shelf? Did the person pass away years before and not have a book-loving friend or relative to hand the books down to? Or maybe this fellow bookworm simply ran out of space or packed up, moved, and decided to share a beloved book with some stranger in the future that will connect by some invisible thread. 

The movie is also on YouTube starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. Superb!

*which is a gas planet. Ur-anus, gas planet! Get it? Funny!

The other day I was out for a walk in the evening and saw this little tiny blue alien sitting close to the freshly plowed field. “What the hell,” I thought. The little creature cried and explained, “I am from planet Uranus. I am so sad because I didn’t get the promotion I applied for and now I have to stay at this portal here on Earth and work from here!” “Oh no, I said, this is so sad. Can you explain how your boss made this decision about who gets promoted? Go on, explain what you did wrong!” The tiny blue alien continued and said, “So management on spaceship Urania says that, …..

I don’t smile enough.

I smile too much.

I don’t kiss ass.

I am abrasive. For example, that time when I asked for a promotion. It was awkward and I made everyone on the management team uncomfortable.

I don’t speak up.

I never shut up and ask too many questions.

I am sloppy. Like when I sent that space email with one typo. Alien boss said I needed to proofread my work.

I am too focused on details.

I don’t focus enough on details.

The alien boss needed to promote females even though I was qualified and exactly who they needed for the position.

I am not experienced enough. Oh, wait, I am 4000 years old! Well, I look young. Maybe if I was more mature, like if I was married or had at least two kids (why don’t you have more kids, by the way? Alien boss is a little curious), then they could envision me as being a supervisor on sector 1 at Uranus.

I do have kids! And am a single parent for crying out loud! Well, the management is concerned about my ability to balance everything, and I look tired all the time, ask for days off because my alien children are sick, and I feel guilty asking the boss to leave, so they just promote someone who does not have kids but has red lipstick, claw polish, hosts the best Friday-after-work-parties inviting everyone even from Mars, who’s a great female alien and “simple and easy” to talk to.

I am too argumentative. For example, right now I am upset that I didn’t get a promotion, and I am asking for concrete examples of what I can do better. Alien management doesn’t want to get into the nitty-gritty. I should just trust my judgment and wait for the next promotion round when “my time comes”.

I am a pushover. When X7R2 came back 15 minutes late from his break (a recurring problem) I should have just told him to be on time instead of telling management that I thought it was inappropriate. Leaders handle their own problems, my alien boss told me.

I am not a team player. If I would just wait a few thousand years, there would be some great opportunities here for me. They need me in my current role right now.

I am not good at promoting myself. What do they even want? I f***ing DESIGNED and BUILT this spaceship myself dammit! It is over there in the field by the way. Still fully functioning because I knoooooow how to start AND land on different planets.

Then he fell silent and cried a bit. When aliens from Uranus cry, tiny stars appear at the corner of their eyes. I hugged him and said, “Look, at least you are on ‘the rooster already for upcoming promotions’. Maybe your time will come. Just wait and keep applying and if you won’t get the promotion that is fine too. Just be true to yourself so you can always look in your space mirror!”

Spring is around the corner, my darlings. I love everything about spring. The days are longer, more sun, warmer, more time spent outside, and long sunset evenings with friends and family. And of course, time spent with good books. So, determined to get excited about some spring readings, I rolled up my sleeves and researched some titles for you. I asked book editor friends which ones were getting crazy buzz and scoured the reviews. Here are five I’m loving, and please tell me what’s stacked on your night table in the comments below….

The Girls by Emma Cline
Last night, I climbed in bed and cracked open this book. Ten minutes later, I had broken out in a cold sweat. Cline’s debut novel — which has already been snatched up for a film version — is set in a hippie commune in 1969 and is loosely based on the Charles Manson murders that took place that summer. A 14-year-old girl, Evie, falls in with the wrong crowd and joins a community in Marin County, California, that’s presided over by a charismatic, volatile leader. Beautifully written and terrifying.

LaRose by Louise Erdrich
This book has a heartbreaking premise: While deer-hunting in North Dakota, Landreaux Iron accidentally shoots and kills his neighbor’s five-year-old son. Guilt-ridden and tormented by grief, Iron and his wife decide to give their own young son, LaRose, to the boy’s parents. “Our son will be your son now,” he tells them, acting on a tribal principle from his Ojibwe heritage. The saga that follows is beautifully told by the bestselling author Lousie Erdrich, who herself is part Ojibwe (and won the 2012 National Book Award for The Round House). It is painfully sad at times, but you can’t put it down.

Maestra by L.S. Hilton
When an author’s very first book immediately hits the New York Times bestseller list, you know there’s something remarkable about it. In this case, it’s… the sex. The New York Post said Maestra “makes ’50 Shades’ look like the Bible.” The psychological thriller follows Judith Rashleigh, a young assistant in London’s art world who’s fired (and then goes on the run through France and Italy) after she uncovers a conspiracy. If you liked The Talented Mr. Ripley, you’ll love this. I tore through it in a few days, and Stella and ten of her friends bought copies for their book club. Hot!

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
An updated Pride and Prejudice, Eligible tackles all the big themes found in Jane Austen’s 1813 novel — manners, gender, romantic relationships and family dynamics — through a funny, modern lens. Here, “Liz” is as a writer and Jane is a yoga instructor, while “Chip” Bingley is a doctor freshly sprung from an appearance on a reality T.V. show. And so on and so forth. I thought the dialogue was a little forced, but Lexi and Caroline are enthralled. (Have you read it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.)

Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens
It may be hard to envision an entire novel about a woman experiencing labor, but Pamela Erens’s new book makes those eleven hours extremely compelling. The protagonist, Lore, arrives at a hospital in New York to have her baby mysteriously alone. Her Haitian delivery nurse, Franckline, who is newly pregnant herself (although no one else knows), quickly morphs from a stranger to her closest ally, supporting her unflinchingly through her dreamy then harrowing experience. Erens weaves the broader stories of both women in and out of Lore’s suspenseful birth experience, drawing connections between them that are surprising and intimate. Bottom line: Women are heroes.

The next two on my list:

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Emma Straub’s book Modern Lovers is the entertaining story of a group of college friends and former bandmates, who are now living in Brooklyn. As they approach fifty, they’re nurturing their careers, examining their marriages and rediscovering themselves while their own kids get ready for college (and starting sleeping together). Straub has such a funny, perceptive writing style, you feel like you’re close friends with them all.

The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, The Year of the Runaways captures the difficult plights of four young immigrants (three men and a woman) who arrive in the U.K. from India in 2003 without documentation, seeking better opportunities and income. The book is divided into four novella-length chapters, which depict the daily struggles of each character, and it feels especially timely right now with the refuge crisis in Europe.

Thoughts? What are you reading right now?