I am reading a great book – Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier. She is the author of The Girl with the Pearl Earring, another great book.

She is a terrific writer in that she takes something well know like the painting The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer and creates a fictional story behind the real event. In Burning Bright, she does it again by creating an intricate story behind William Blake’s masterpiece Songs of Innocence and of Experience. It takes place in London during the end of the 18th Century and while I am only half way through it I had to comment on her talent. The detail and research that must go into these books creates a solid foundation and then her imagination just sores with the story.

I have a hard time getting into fiction, save Harry Potter, and I often find myself reading non-fiction. This creates a problem for me when I want to escape and go into another world for a bit. Tracy Chevalier keeps my interest in history, art, poetry, etc. while creating a rich story for me to escape. The best of both worlds.

I really enjoy reading good books and it can be a challenge in my world, but I keep at it. What a wonderful gift to create a story and a world for readers to retreat from their daily lives. Brilliant work. That is all from the laundry room tonight.

“Think in the morning, act in the noon, read in the evening, and sleep at night.” – William Blake

Books Burning Bright daily thoughts female fiction Girl with the Pearl Earring life literature meaning Moms opinion Reading thirtysomething Tracy Chevalier Vermeer William Blake women writers