My Head Is Full of Books: Review and quotes: THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX, AND THE HORSE

"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Review and quotes: THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX, AND THE HORSE

Title: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Book Beginnings (or somewhere near the beginning) illustration:

I wish everyone's goal would be to grow up kind.

Friday56 (or some other page) illustration:

All the little conversations caused me to stop and think. I am hoping that a bunch of people can unlearn their thoughts and beliefs around politics. Sigh. It seems like unlearning is a hard thing to do.

Summary: The project started as random little Instagram posts by Charlie Mackesy and evolved into this book. "A former children’s book illustrator and cartoonist for the Spectator, Mackesy finds himself, by happenstance, to be a spokesman for uplift in down times." Watch the short video to meet the author/illustrator and how his little conversations between a boy, a mole, a fox, and a horse have made such a big splash. (YouTube)

Review: Last year everyone was reading this little gem of a book and I was feeling left out. Apparently my library has but one copy and it was taking months for my turn to come up so I could have a turn at it too. After reading it I immediately tried to order copies for everyone for Christmas gifts. Alas, the book was out of stock everywhere. Once again I was late to the party and would have to choose different gifts for my friends and family members I'd hoped would love this book as much as I do.

Good plan. Sometimes we just need to focus on positive things like cake!

The whole book is full of the darling illustrations as exampled above, and had simple thoughts, usually framed as questions or small conversations. The replies often left me breathless.

Each conversation is a springboard to others.

2020 has been a tough reading year for me. I found I couldn't settle into books easily which caused me to abandon many, many books only half read. If the book was too serious, too silly, too tough, or just not relevant, out it went. Then I found The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse. In it I found quiet solace and calm assurance. It is by far my favorite book of the year.

The quote is from the Jan. 15, 2020 review of the book in the Washington Post. I highly recommend you read it. (WaPo)

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from current book.
The Friday56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Find a quote from page 56 to share.
Visit these two websites to participate. Click on links to read quotes from books other people are reading. It is a great way to make blog friends and to get suggestions for new reading material.