If 2019 is nothing else, I would say it became the Year of the Book. I’ve always considered myself an avid reader, but this year was above and beyond what I’ve read in the past (or at least, since homework made reading for fun more difficult to find time for). 2018 was almost The Year of the Book. (It certainly started that way between The Philosopher’s Flight and The English Wife – both books I could not put down.)
However, 2019 will get credit for the sheer number of good books I read that I couldn’t part with. Book after book came out this year that made reading a much more enjoyable activity. I was introduced to books this year that I couldn’t put down. From Well Met by Jen deLuca, to Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore, to the latest Jasmine Guillory. I even started a book group at work, which has been one of the best decisions I could have made this year. Dedicated to mystery novels set or written in the early part of the 20th century, we’ve been exploring Agatha Christie, Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and more. Even The Alice Network made it on to the list.
One of the signs I have found of a good book is that the end of the book brings about a sort of separation depression where you wish the book could keep going. You’re proud of yourself for finishing the book, but upset that it had to end. Several books have brought this on this year, but none quite so substantially as The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
Erin Morgenstern once again wove a world that needed to be explored – but this time we are stepping into her “not-a-library” that exists below our feet, accessible through doors placed throughout the world. We have the chance to explore this world through the eyes of Zachary, a boy who had the chance to walk through a door once upon a time, but never took it. It is the story of an opportunity revisited.
What I love most about Erin Morgenstern’s work is that it is about the place more so than the story. Yes the story is there, but it is her descriptions of the places she dreams up that help world build in an incredible way. The act of storytelling is more for exploration than anything else. The storytelling style is compelling because reading becomes a true escape. We often say that picking up the right book is transporting us to another time and place – but with Erin Morgenstern, this is truly the case.
This is all to say, The Starless Sea is a place I know I will revisit time and time again. If you want a truly escapist book, you should definitely give this one a read.