Sometimes one thing leads to another which leads to another and another and on it goes – and never truer than with books. I was introduced to Ann Patchett books in 2005 when I read Bel Canto, her fourth novel and first breakout success, and in 2007 when I read Run. At this point, I remember little about either except that I enjoyed both.
This year I met Ann in the hospitality room at the Mississippi Book Festival where we were on different panels at the same time. In spite of her huge success as an author and bookstore owner (Parnassus in Nashville), she seemed down-to-earth and likeable. She even chuckled a bit when I told her how jealous my daughter would be when I bragged that I had met her. Of course, when I got home, I checked out her newest book, Tom Lake, from my library and found yet another good read. But that led to something else.
My friend, Martha Ginn, insisted that I needed to read Ann’s book of essays These Precious Days. Martha had three weeks left on her library loan so she reloaned it to me. In this totally different kind of writing, I found many thought triggers and more leads to other things.
Ann describes her father’s insistence that she get a real job to go with her “hobby” of writing, “I got an MFA from Iowa, and handful of fellowships, a smattering of prizes. I published stories, articles, three novels, and still he sent me notices for summer work on cruise ships.”
Her stepfather gave advise that she took to heart, “He taught me that to ask someone to read my work was to ask them to give me their time, and so I resolved to never ask anyone to read anything I’d written until I had done every last thing I could to make it better.”
She describes her relationship with Snoopy, the dog-novelist in a chapter called, “In the Doghouse.” That reminded me that it had been a while since I read Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life, and I needed to add it to my TBR file.
Her love for Eudora Welty and her account of an event when she actually heard Eudora read her own work brought a memory. I never heard her read in person, but the year that I traveled between two schools, I had tapes of Eudora reading her short stories on repeat in my car. Of course, this reminded me that it had been a while since I had read The Collected Works of Eudora Welty. You’ve guessed already – another book for my TBR pile.
I related to Ann’s Southern roots. I especially liked her description of her elderly but spunky mother-in-law in Meridian, MS. “Ninety-seven in Meridian is about eighty-four anywhere else.”
One last commonality is a time of day phenomenon. Ann has a pen, scratch pad, and book light by her bed for the thought that wakes her at three o’clock AM since writing it down is her (and my) best chance for going back to sleep. And then, These Precious Days led to one more unexpected turn.
I did not know that Ann had also written a couple of children’s books. I’ve seen enough bad picture books by celebrities and famous adult book authors to be skeptical – especially when one chapter in These Precious Days explains why she never had nor wanted children. Fortunately, my library had both Lambslide and Escape Goat available for checkout. Both are clever, funny, and beautifully illustrated.
So my advice from this trail is to get yourself an Ann Patchett novel or These Precious Days for some relaxed holiday reading. And if you have a little person in your life, run – don’t walk, to your nearest library or bookstore for a copy of Lambslide and Escape Goat.