Morningstar
Growing Up With Books
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4.1 • 7 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
“[An] enchanting journey through Ann Hood’s early fascination with reading.… Book lovers will find Morningstar irresistible.”—Lynn Sharon Schwartz, author of Ruined by Reading
Growing up in a mill town in Rhode Island, in a household that didn’t foster a love of reading, novelist Ann Hood discovered nonetheless the transformative power of literature. She learned to channel her imagination, ambitions, and curiosity by devouring ever-growing stacks of books. In Morningstar, Hood recollects with warmth and honesty how The Bell Jar, Marjorie Morningstar, The Harrad Experiment, and The Outsiders influenced her teen psyche and introduced her to topics that could not be discussed at home: desire, fear, sexuality, and madness. Later, Johnny Got His Gun and Grapes of Wrath dramatically influenced her political thinking while the Vietnam War and Kent State shootings became headline news, and classics such as Dr. Zhivago and Les Misérables stoked her ambitions to travel the world. With characteristic insight and charm, Hood showcases the ways in which books gave her life and can transform—even save—our own lives.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Books are magical things. Just ask bestselling novelist Ann Hood, who, as an intellectually insatiable child, turned to local libraries and bookstores for a roadmap to the world beyond her provincial New England town. Hood's Morningstar: Growing Up with Books charts her early, revelatory forays into the works of Sylvia Plath, John Updike, and Herman Wouk. She perfectly describes the thrill of recognition of seeing ourselves—our secret passions and darkest fears—reflected on a page.
